A Life Renewed
by Jediempress
Summary: COMPLETED. An old friend returns and changes the life of a new one. ZackLeon, secondary CloudRiku.
1. Chapter 1

Being rewritten to fit better in the Unavoidable Truth series. It's not necessary to read that one to understand this one. I only own the story itself.

Rewrite Aug 23.

* * *

A Life Renewed

"Wow, it's really pouring." Sora commented, looking out the upstairs window. "Now I'm kinda glad I got house duty."

"Yeah," Yuffie did not glance up from the magazine she was leafing through. "The guys are gonna be totally pissy when they get back. Squall will have ruined another pair of leather pants."

"His own fuckin' fault for always wearin' 'em." Cid was drawing out a new schematic for a tram idea Riku had recently brought back from Twilight Town. He murmured to himself. "Be easier to fuckin' build a monorail."

"Oh, that'd be cool." Yuffie was suddenly paying attention. "Don't they got one of those at Disney Castle?"

"Yeah." Cid grunted.

"Are you finished with the polishing, Sora?" Aerith quietly called from the attic crawl space.

"Oh, yeah." He studied the weapon in his hand. "Why did Cloud pick this of all things? It's huge."

Yuffie glanced up and her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! I haven't seen that in years! Where the heck was it?"

"Cloud had it on him." Aerith poked her head down. "He never told me why."

"So if he's got First Tsurgi now, why keep this?" Sora tilted his head.

"The Buster sword was originally Zack's."

"Ohhh." He had heard about Zack, mostly from Aerith. Cloud usually got real quiet or left whenever he came up.

Zack had been Aerith's boyfriend for a while and Cloud's best friend and had died protecting Cloud. Sora had the impression that Zack and Cloud had been more than that but he did not risk asking. He knew Cloud was not likely to answer and he didn't want to start something awkward with Aerith. Questioning her about her dead boyfriend's sexual habits seemed like a bad idea.

He did once ask Riku if Cloud had ever talked to him about Zack. Riku had gotten an odd look on his face and after a moment simply said that it was the past and therefore not any of their business. Sora could not tell if that had come from not knowing the story and not caring or if Riku did know something and did not want to get into it.

"Well, Zack must have been a pretty strong guy." Sora stood, hefting the sword with him. "I still can't believe how easily Cloud used it."

Aerith smiled as she reached down to take the Buster from the newly turned seventeen year old. She grunted a little herself, pulling it up with both hands and back into the attic. Once she disappeared from view, Sora bounded down the stairs. "You gonna do something today, Yuffie or just sit around reading?"

"But we have you to be the servant boy." Yuffie laughed.

"Hey!" Sora moved to hit her but did not do so.

"Knock it off, you two!" Cid grumbled. "I swear, I'm moving into the garage."

"Good." Yuffie stuck out her tongue. "We don't like you're sour puss face anyway."

"One-"

"I'm goin'!" Yuffie stomped a foot and headed for the back of the house. Sora did not know where she was going nor did he really care at that moment.

He walked over to Cid and frowned at the blueprints. "So is it really going to be that hard?"

"The tram?" Cid shrugged. "We got narrow streets here. It can be done but it's gonna be a bitch an' I don' think it's gonna be practical in the end."

"Oh."

"Maybe Riku can figure somethin' out." Cid threw his head back. "Oh, hell, I might even have him run it by the psycho."

Sora knew exactly who Cid was talking about. "You're always going to call him that, aren't you?"

"He earned it." The middle-aged blonde straightened out. "Course I'll never say it to his face."

No surprise there. Sora was still a bit uneasy with Sephiroth's presence and over the past month he had been around the man almost as much as Riku. Since Riku and Cloud's engagement, Sephiroth had been interactin with the Restoration Committee fairly regularly. Aerith was completely fine with the man's presence and even gone so far as to invite him to dinner a few times.

A rather obnoxious ring tone abruptly sounded and Cid gave Sora a look as he took the phone from his pocket. He had personalized tones for everyone and the brunet already knew who it was. "Hey, Riku."

Cid snorted. "Yeah, that tone fits him."

Sora turned away. "What's up?... Yeah, I guessed that…. Why me?" Sora pouted. "Fine. Bye."

He hung up and Cid raised an eyebrow. "What the hell was that about?"

"Riku wants me to somehow force Leon to get out of the rain. Apparently, there's a ton of indoor stuff that can be done but he's fixating on the back landing." Sora explained while dialing in a number. "Says it's my job cause Leon listens to me on occasion." The pout intensified. "Then he called me his boyfriend."

Cid hunched back over his prints. "How the fuck did I get surrounded by pretty boys?"

Sora shrugged, waiting for Leon to answer. Another tone passed before he did. "Riku needs to focus on his own work."

"Hi, Leon. Why are you out working in the rain?"

"It has to get done."

"Yeah, but does it really have to be today? I mean, come on."

There was a pause followed by the quietest of sighs. "I suppose not. I just…"

Sora frowned. "Just what?"

"Didn't want to be in the house with the love birds." Sora could picture the scowl on the brunette's face.

"Ah." Yeah, living with Cloud and Riku was a bit difficult at times. "They really need their own place before they get married."

"It's in the works." Leon stated stiffly. His tone softened with his next words. "Things all right there?"

"Oh, yeah. Cid's cursing, Yuffie's complaining, and Aerith's cleaning, making me do the tough stuff."

"Sucks to be you."

"I'll take it over watching the love birds more than I have to." Sora laughed. "I say we make them go out tonight."

"Fine by me. We haven't had a night to ourselves since you two got here."

Sora blushed just a bit. A few months ago, he and Leon had begun moving into a much more physical relationship. They had quickly and mutually ended that progress but that did not in any means mean that Sora had forgotten the things they had done. He had not spent much time alone with the man since then. "True."

"See you all at six." Leon hung up.

Sora closed his phone.

"You know, I didn't rig those things for you people's social lives." Cid stuck a lollipop in his mouth. Two weeks ago they had finally managed to convince him to quit smoking. "But that's all you seem to use them for."

"Now you know that's not true."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm goin' to the shop. If Riku shows up before me, have him look over those prints."

He walked off and Sora stood alone in the main room. He would be the first to say he loved living here. At first, when he had decided to move to Radiant Garden along with Riku, he had been a bit concerned with how well he was going to fit into the daily routine here. He worked great as a visitor but he knew being a live-in member of the group was going to be different.

However, he had slipped into the routine easily, not realizing that on his many trips with Riku, he had already established himself among them.

There was a light pounding at the front door and Sora frowned. Who would be out in this rain? It had to be something important because there were rarely visitors to Aerith's house.

"Was that the door?" Aerith called down.

"Yeah," Sora replied already walking over to answer. "I got it."

He opened the door and blinked. There stood a tall young man Sora had never seen before; he was certain if he had he would remember. The only others he had ever seen with eyes that bright were Riku, Cloud and Sephiroth. And the shade of purple… just wow. It took him a moment to speak. "Uh, can I help you?"

The man laughed nervously, running a hand through long, swept back spikes of jet black hair. He smiled easily despite the uncertainty in his eyes. "Uh, hi there."

"Uh, hi."

The ebony haired man rubbed at the back of his neck. "Sorry for disrupting you but I was sent over here by one of the people in the marketplace. I'm trying to find a Cloud Strife."

"Oh, uh. He isn't here." Noting the half-relieved look on the man's face, Sora tilted his head. "What do you want him for?"

A mischievous glint took over those violet eyes. "We're old friends."

Sora frowned, giving the stranger a quick look-over. He was dressed like a soldier in black cargo pants and midnight blue knit sleeve-less shirt. A few belts were strapped on but no armor. He had the build of someone who favored swords. Was this guy from the Coliseum?

"Sora, who is it?" Aerith was coming down the stairs.

The man's mouth turned down for a moment as if remembering something. In a loud yet somehow soft voice, he called out. "Aerith?"

Sora looked back at her as she paused. There was a brief look of confusion before her eyes completely lit up. A hand rose to cover her mouth as she gasped. "Zack!"

"Zack!" Sora gaped, looking over the man again more closely.

Aerith skipped the last few steps. Sora moved to the side and she nearly leapt into the man's arms. He picked her up in a tight hug, huge smile on his face. "Hey, Aer. I should have known you'd be here."

She pulled away, beaming. "When?"

"A few weeks ago." He replied as she ushered him in.

"You're soaked. Sora, go get a towel."

Sora was already doing as she said before he asked himself why was he simply doing as she said. He should have been demanding to know what was going on. How could Zack be here when he was supposedly dead? Well, he could ask questions just as easily once the guy was dry.

He came back in time to hear most of Zack's explanation. "I woke up in that Coliseum place. Once my memories settled, I started asking around if anyone knew you guys and finally found some goatman who knew Cloud and said he was probably here."

"He is." Aerith suddenly frowned a little and seemed a bit hesitant. "There are some things you need to know."

Zack studied her a long moment. He then moved away and sat on the coffee table. He folded his arms and studied the floor. "So he's finally moved on, huh?"

Aerith nodded, watching him closely.

"Well, that's good." Zack clearly was not as happy about this fact as he was pretending to be. "Spiky deserves to be happy more than anyone."

"He does." Aerith quietly agreed.

After another minute, the newcomer raised his head and looked at Sora. "So, I'm guessing you're the infamous Keyblade Master everyone's talking about."

"Huh? Oh, uh yeah." Sora was still totally floored. "Um, aren't you dead?"

Zack's laugh was infectious. "I was. Now I'm not."

"But how?"

"Dunno really; same way Aerith did I guess." He stood back up. "You got anything to drink around here? I'm dyin'."

Without waiting for an answer he strolled over to the kitchen. The guy was just making himself at home and Aerith did not seem to care at all. In fact, she seemed rather thrilled about it. Wait, didn't they use to go out? But they were just talking like Zack and Cloud had been… Sora was really confused.

After the man got himself a beer, he returned to his original position. Taking a long draw from the bottle, those intense violet eyes flicked Sora's way. "Judging from the dead comment, I'm guessing you know who I am."

"Kinda." Sora rubbed the back of his head. "Riku's mentioned you."

"Who's Riku?"

"Cloud's boyfriend." Aerith answered, a weak smile going with the statement.

"Ah," Zack nodded once. His eyes were almost as expressive as Riku's. Sora could read everything in them and right now there was some obvious pain.

"You use to date Cloud, didn't you?"

Zack raised an eyebrow, that pain morphing into amusement. "Didn't give you much detail, did they?"

Sora shrugged. "Wasn't my business."

"Good answer!" He laughed. "I don't know if I'd call it dating but yeah, Cloud and I had something going on."

"But I thought…" He glanced at Aerith.

She picked up the thought instantly. "Zack and I dated but well, we made better friends in the end."

Okay, Sora understood that. He had just gone through something similar with Kairi. Of course everything else was a total mess but he figured eventually he would get it all. There was one thing however he picked up on and it could spell disaster. "So you're back for Cloud?"

"Uh," Zack turned his face away and scratched the back of his head. "Well, that thought had crossed my mind but if he's got someone else, I'm not gonna get in the middle of that. All I've ever wanted for Spike was for him to be happy."

He suddenly laughed loudly. "Besides, I've never been too good with the commitment thing anyway."

Sora could tell right away the cheerfulness was an act but the man also meant what he said. He would not interfere if Cloud was happy.

"So, tell me a little about what I've missed." Zack dropped down on the coffee table again. "Last thing I actually remember clearly is hanging out in the Lifestream with you, Aer. Then some weird dark shadow started taking over everything and you were gone."

Aerith placed her arms behind her back. "I was somehow pulled from the darkness and woke up in a place called Traverse Town alive. Yuffie and Cid ended up there, too. Cloud some how got separated from them."

"The darkness took him." Zack said certainly. "He's always been weak against it."

"Yes, but his heart is strong." Aerith smiled. "He fights it for all he's worth."

"Yeah, he does. Did Sephiroth make it through?"

Aerith grinned more. "Oh, he made it through."

Zack stared at her in confusion. After a beat, he seemed to finally get her meaning. His eyes brighten and a lopsided grin came upon him as he straightened up. "Really? He's seriously okay now?"

"Jenova has been contained and it looks like for good."

"Thank Shiva." Zack breathed out. "It was so hard seeing him like that. Seph didn't deserve any of that shit. I still don't blame him for snapping but damn if he didn't do it spectacularly. Of course, he is the Great Sephiroth. I'll have to go see him."

"He'd like that. He talks of you fondly."

"How's Cloud taken it?"

"He's… adjusting." Aerith slowly got out.

"If you call not drawing his sword or running for his life when he's within 500 feet of him adjusting." Sora muttered.

Zack stared at him, almost as if appraising him before barking out a laugh. He pointed a finger from the hand with the beer bottle at him. "I think I'm gonna like you, kid. You remind me a lot of Cloud before all the crazy shit went down."

He reminded Zack of Cloud? Cloud use to be like him? No way. That was something Sora simply could not accept. Sora was energetic and positive, somewhat naive (though he loathed to admit to it). Those things did not describe Cloud in any way.

Zack must have seen his disbelief because he grinned broadly. "Oh don't you worry, kid. After a few days, you'll start to see it. I'll snap him out of that emo mode he's been for the past ten years."

Sora wished him luck with that. It would be interesting to see Cloud cheerful. Granted, he had seen the man happy and you always knew when he and Riku had been screwing around because there was just this relaxed attitude he got but he never was just simply…cheerful; never in a good mood without reason.

"He's gonna flip when he sees you." Sora commented.

"Probably." Zack shrugged. "It'll be fun."

"What'll be fun?" Leon walked in from the back. Upon seeing Zack, he paused to regard the stranger carefully. "Who's this?"

"Leon, this is Zack." Aerith introduced, watching Leon's reaction.

His expression was as impassive as always. He nodded once and folded his arms. "So another one of Cloud's friends found his way here. Lucky him."

There was a subtle bitter tone to his words that Sora clearly heard.

"Well, welcome to Radiant Garden. I hope you can work because there's a lot to do and everyone here has to help out."

Sora frowned and waited for Zack's reply. The ebony haired man gave Leon a lazy stare then smirked. "I can do anything Cloud can't do."

Leon kept that cool gaze on him. "Good. That means you can do just about everything but kill Sephiroth."

Zack laughed in that brash way of his. "Exactly. You really do know Spike."

The younger man raised an eyebrow before walking toward the kitchen. "I'm guessing dinner hasn't been started."

"Oh!" Aerith put a hand to her mouth. She looked a bit sheepishly at Zack before following Leon. "I guess I got caught up talking."

Once the two left, Zack turned to Sora. "Leon doesn't talk much, does he?"

"Nope. More than Cloud usually does but he's pretty quiet."

"Huh." Zack glanced in the direction of the kitchen. "He reminds me a little of Seph."

Now he was comparing Leon to Sephiroth? Sora did not even want to think about that one. There was no way those two could be alike.

"He the only survivor?"

"What?"

"From his world," Zack clarified. "What he said earlier. He's the only one who made it from his world, right?"

"Oh, yeah, as far as we know." Sora tilted his head thoughtfully. "I guess he's kinda jealous of Cloud because most of his friends have returned."

Zack nodded, still staring down the path the other two had taken. He was thinking over something carefully.

The front door opened and Riku's soft chuckle could be heard. Both Sora and Zack turned their heads to watch Riku followed by Cloud walk in. Riku had his back to them and doing something with the blonde's hair, obstructing Cloud's view. Neither of them seemed to notice the other two in the room.

With a hesitant smile, Zack called out, "Hey, Cloud."

Riku paused then slowly turned toward the voice. Cloud had frozen in place, still not moving once Riku was out of his line of sight. His expression was one of utter shock and he didn't even try to speak. His face said it all.

Riku frowned at the black haired man, figuring out imediately who this was. He kept his contence relatively neutral but his eyes darkened. He was obviously unsettled by Zack's presence.

Zack only continued to smile that near obnoxiously bright grin of his. "I'm back."


	2. Chapter 2

Rewritten Sept. 1. Lots of plot details changed in this one.

* * *

Cloud was not quite staring but the total disbelief was clearly visible. He did not blink as he took a hesitant step forward. This was followed by another then another... Right until he was a mere hand span from the other man.

A moment passed before Cloud managed a weak, "You're not dead, are you?"

"Not this time, Spiky."

This exchange somehow broke through the barrier and Cloud threw his arms around Zack's neck; his grip on Zack was tight. He seemed to be laughing and crying at once. It was more open emotion than Sora had ever seen from him, including when he proposed to Riku.

Riku narrowed his eyes further. There was more than a little jealousy stirring in those green depths. He spared Sora a quick glance and Sora could see the fear beneath that jealousy. The look clearly said to explain.

Sora shrugged, knowing he did not really know how to do that. Zack hadn't gone into any detail and Sora still didn't know that the deal with Aerith was either. They were once dead and now they weren't; he was perfectly content to leave it at that. If Riku wanted details, he would have to ask them.

Cloud had pulled away from Zack now but his arms had remained in place. "How long have you been here?"

"Here as in here or back among the living?"

Cloud tilted his head and there was amusement to his voice. "You know what I mean."

"I came back a few weeks ago, started looking for you and the trail lead me here." Zack shrugged. "I showed up on the doorstep a couple hours ago, freaked out the kid here, delighted the ex-girlfriend, and intrigued the new member of your party."

"You met Leon already, huh?"

"Mr. Dark and brooding? Yeah, he's with Aerith in the kitchen." Zack looked over Cloud's shoulder. "So you gonna introduce me to Seph's brother there?"

Cloud quickly moved away from his old friend, nearly running to Riku. Taking his hand, he pulled Riku over. Sora watched this unusual display curiously. Maybe Zack had been right; Cloud was clearly more energized than normal.

"Riku, this is Zack. Zack, Riku." Cloud was still gripping Riku's hand but stood close to Zack.

Riku regarded the older man coolly. "Nice to be able to meet you."

Zack folded his arms and cocked his head. "You're one of us, aren't you? You have Mako eyes."

"Your point?"

The raven haired man laughed suddenly. "You know, I was joking about the Sephiroth thing but its true, isn't it?"

"It is."

Wow, Riku was being stand offish. Sora frowned at his best friend's behavior. He had a feeling there was going to be a rather nasty fight tonight and Riku would be keeping him up, alternating between screaming rants about Zack and crying that he should not be getting so possessive.

"Wow, I am totally out of the loop." Zack shook his head. "I have got to get up to speed fast. I hate not knowing what's going on."

"Dinner's ready." Leon spoke from the kitchen doorway. "Someone set the table."

Sora went to work and was quickly joined by Zack. Riku moved away from the area, toward the far side of the living room. Cloud looked at him with concern. So he had picked up on Riku's animosity.

"Whew, he does not like me," Zack mumbled, standing close to Sora.

"Riku's just really insecure." Sora quietly defended his best friend. "He really doesn't think he deserves Cloud and he still gets extremely worried he's gonna lose him."

"Ah, now I see it."

"See what?"

Zack straightened. "Where's the silverware?"

"In the kitchen." Sora answered, taking the plates from the side cupboard.

Zack turned and went into the kitchen. Aerith glanced up from her work and smiled. Leon did not bother to acknowledge him. "Looking for silverware."

"That drawer." Aerith pointed somewhere near Leon.

Zack headed over, Leon automatically moving to the side. Zack gave the man an idle glance as he opened the drawer. "So, that Riku seems nice."

Leon snorted. "He was giving you the Jenova stare of doom and you call him nice."

"Was friends with Sephiroth for way too long to be intimidated by that look." Zack shrugged. "And I like that name for it."

Leon made a noise that might have been a laugh. Aerith glanced at the two curiously. She smiled to herself and picked up the bowl before her. "Hurry up with those, Zack. We're ready."

"Yes, ma'am." He mock saluted and ducked back out the door.

Aerith looked at Leon as she passed him and he mildly glared back. "What?"

"Nothing."

She left the kitchen and a moment later Leon followed.

Yuffie and Cid had returned and Yuffie was gushing over Zack. Cid was his indifferent self, merely stating out loud Sora's unspoken thought that this would be interesting. While Zack, Aerith and to a lesser degree Cloud chatted throughout dinner with Yuffie trying to unsuccessfully add her own comments, Riku and Leon remained stonily silent.

When enough was eaten, Cid walked off per usual. Yuffie was quickly sent away by Leon and Aerith began cleaning up. Sora decided to help her, walking in and out of Cloud and Zack's discussion. They, along with Riku, had moved to sit in the front room.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Cloud asked as he walked over to sit on the armrest of the chair Riku was on. He began rubbing small circles on the teen's back.

Zack shrugged from his place on the floor near the sofa. "I was gonna ask Aerith if I could crash here for a few days."

Leon stood near the door and nodded. "If you're still willing to work, I'll find something for you tomorrow. From there we'll figure out more permenant living arrangements."

"Fair enough." Zack leaned back on his hands. "I can sleep anywhere and get along with just about anyone."

"And has the fact of being one of Sephiroth's only friends to back that claim." Cloud added.

"Speaking of Seph, I don't imagine he hangs around here much."

"Rarely," Riku answered smoothly. "He sticks to the outskirts of town."

"I'll take you out there sometime." Sora volunteered as he grabbed the last of the dishes.

"Sure, kid." Zack grinned at him. "Though knowing him, he probably already knows I'm here. No doubt he'll find me soon enough."

"Likely." Cloud agreed.

"I'm headed home." Leon announced. This was received by a chorus of nods and two verbal good-byes.

Sora finished his job soon after Leon left and sat on the floor beside Zack. He was really starting to like the guy. He was friendly and totally approachable, so different from the others around here. He could see why Cloud was so taken by him. They were kind of a ying yang combination.

He did not even mind being called kid by him.

"So, where are you two living?" Zack asked, with his hands in his lap and looking over at the couple on the chair.

"With Leon for now." Cloud idly played with Riku's hair. Said other had half lidded eyes and his head against the blonde's body. He looked like he was about to fall asleep. "Once some more houses are done, we'll get one of those."

"You with them, too?" The black haired man nudged Sora. "Kinda kinky. Cloud's a bit vocal."

Sora giggled. "Riku's worse."

"Is he?" Zack looked at the older teen appreciatively. Cloud was shaking his head with a light blush. "So who's the uke?"

"Oh, come on Zack." Cloud groaned.

"Usually it's the larger of the pair but Riku there strikes me as being very submissive." Something in Cloud's expression changed. "Ha! I knew it. Congrats on getting top spot, Spikey!"

Riku's eyes slitted open. He looked like he wanted to say something, probably rather nasty but with Cloud's fingers in his hair he was just too content.

Aerith returned to the front room, still looking thrilled by Zack's presence. "You're staying here, right?"

"If you want me to." He grinned. He should have known he would not have to ask.

"Cid has surrendered his room for you. He's got a back room at the garage." Aerith chuckled. "I think he's more comfortable there any way."

Zack nodded. "When do you people usually turn in?"

"Not early enough." Sora stood. "Leon wants us all up and working by like sunrise. I swear the man's a machine."

"He's just dedicated," Aerith defended the absent man.

"He needs to get laid," Riku muttered. Cloud snorted his agreement and both gave Sora a pointed look.

"Hey, we don't have that kind of relationship!"

"No, you've just been sleeping with him for how long?"

"It's not like that and you both know it!"

Zack laughed, rubbing at the back of his head. All of them were clearly very close and it was a little odd to be the outsider. Definitely not a position he was use to. "Well, since I want to make a good impression on your fearless leader I better be up and ready to move before dawn, huh?"

"Oh, don't worry too much about it." Sora waved it off as he climbed to his feet. "None of us do. As long as it gets done, he's cool."

"Where are you off to?"

Sora walked toward the door. "I told Scrooge I'd help him with some stuff."

"Translation: he's getting free ice cream." Cloud clarified.

"Whoa!" Zack jerked in excitement. "Free ice cream? I want in!"

"Come on, then." Sora opened the door. "You're gonna have to start meeting everyone anyway."

Zack followed him out and down the street. A few blocks away, he was introduced to an accented talking duck. Now that was unexpected; but he was a friendly duck person thing and he had some amazing ice cream. Sora and Scrooge chatted a while about Scrooge's nephew Donald, who apparently Sora knew extremely well.

As the sun set, the old duck stated he was closing for the night. He informed Zack he did not give out freebies to anyone but Sora and tonight was a one time deal. However, since it looked like he was joining the restoration committee, he got a ten percent discount.

"I should probably get back home." Sora sighed as they left. "Riku will be waiting."

"Why'd he be waiting for you?" Zack did not like the tone Sora used.

"Well," Sora rubbed his neck. "I'm sure you noticed earlier that Riku gets rather jealous. You being here has completely thrown him and now he's gonna feel threatened for a while. It's very likely that after we left he and Cloud got into an argument and Riku walked off."

"Oh."

"It's unfortunately typical for them." Sora shrugged. He hesitated a second. "Cloud usually goes to the river. If you follow this path down and go down the ally between the laundry and the empty store, keep walking down that path and you'll find the river. You'll probably find Cloud about 500 yards down after the boulders."

Zack studied the boy beside him. This kid was way smarter that he acted. He ruffled the brown spikes, much as he used to do to Cloud. "You're a smart kid."

"You're the only one who says that."

"Well, everyone else is stupid."

Sora grinned widely. "You're going to be fun to have around."

"Well, it's always been my job to keep things upbeat. Drove Seph crazy." Zack chuckled. He grew serious again. "I'm glad you trust me, Sora. I really don't want to get in the way of Cloud's happiness."

"Aw, Riku will be fine." Sora waved. "Give him a few days; he'll talk to me tonight, avoid Cloud tomorrow, probably confront you at some point, then finally talk to Cloud. Everything will be worked out and those two will be as sickenly romantic as they were before, probably more."

"You really do have this down."

"Yep." Sora nodded. "Now go get things straight with Cloud. That will help speed up the process."

"Yes, sir."

Zack followed Sora's directions and in about fifteen minutes, he was studying the back of Cloud's head. Those haphazard spikes of blonde hair moved slightly with the light breeze and he sat with arms wrapped around his upraised knees looking out at the slowly rushing water. While he didn't seem quite lost, it was obvious that he was upset.

"Hey, Zack."

"Hey, Spiky." He came over and sat beside him. "Never expected this scenario, huh?"

"Nope. Should have though. I mean Aerith came back, why not you?"

Zack shrugged. "She's better looking."

Cloud snorted. "You're still gorgeous."

"Yeah, I know." Zack shook out his hair. "I'll always be dead sexy."

Cloud reached over and shoved him. The pair laughed a bit before settling back down. "I'm glad you've come back, Zack. I missed you."

"I missed you too, Cloud."

They waited in silence, watching the water. There was so much to say and yet not a word needed to be spoken. That was the kind of relationship they had.

"Riku reminds me a lot of Sephiroth."

Cloud sighed. "Yeah, but at the same time they're nothing alike. They were born the same way but raised completely differently. No one knew they were related until a few years ago."

"I'm sure it's a fascinating story but I'll wait to hear it." Zack groaned, leaning his weight back on his hands. "Oi, the next few days are gonna be rough. You know how I hate trying to process information."

"Yeah." Cloud glanced at him. "Sora send you?"

"Yeah." Violet eyes twinkled. "Kid reminds me of you."

"I stopped being that a long time ago."

"Naw, it's still there." Zack countered. "I still see little glimmers of that childlike delight."

"Whatever."

"So, what's up with that Leon?"

Cloud looked at him curiously. "Why?"

"Just asking."

Cloud smirked as if he knew something then the mask of indifference fell back in place. "Once you get past that stoic exterior, he's a really great guy. He acts indifferent but he cares so much about all of us, I know it must hurt. He lost everyone in the takeover and from what he's told me has always been rather isolated from those around him."

"So he's the opposite of you." Zack concluded.

"Basically." Cloud agreed. "With the same end result."

"Yeah, you're both anti-social." Zack laughed.

"I'm not anti-social, just withdrawn." Cloud retorted. "Leon's anti-social. And I'm certain you'll have him broken of that within a week."

Zack looked in mocked horror. "I would never force someone to be friends with me."

"I didn't say anything about friendship." The younger man stood. "But I know that will happen too."

Zack stared at him. "When did my innocent little recruit grow up?"

"When I started fucking you." He held out a hand.

The Colonel took it and hopped to his feet. Cloud grinned at him. "Come on, Sora should be about done with Riku now."

Zack considered Cloud for a moment. "You really got it bad for that guy, huh?"

The blond's words were certain. "I plan to spend the rest of my life with him."

Something about how he said that caught Zack's attention. "Meaning?"

Cloud bit his lower lip, reminding the older man of days long gone. "We're getting married in a few weeks."

Zack had to take a minute to process that statement. While he had accepted that Cloud was seeing someone else, for whatever reason it had not sunk in just how serious the relationship truly was. For Cloud to be marrying Riku…

Zack could not decide if he was jealous of Cloud, Riku or their relationship in general.

With a nod, Zack threw an arm around him. "I envy you, Spike. Maybe one day I'll find that."

"Anything's possible."


	3. Chapter 3

Rewritten Sept 1.

* * *

The sun had barely begun to light the sky when Zack made his way to the small house that was home to half the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee. He really did not enjoy getting up at the butt-crack of dawn but having been in SOLDIER for as long as he had, it was pretty automatic. Of course, there had been the threat of Sephiroth back then.

Regardless, Zack had become accustomed to little sleep and early hours. He would like to be able to go back to bed, he really could sleep anywhere and almost any how, but he had to establish himself with these people. Leon seemed the type who was not terribly hard to please but don't disappoint him on the first day cause you will not get a second chance.

He rapped on the door briskly and waited. He was only slightly surprised when Sora answered. "Hey, there."

Sora yawned and waved at the same time. He turned away, leaving the door wide open.

Zack stepped in, glancing about. It was definitely a male dominated house with sparse decoration and slightly worn but comfortable looking furniture. There was a half-wall dividing the kitchen and dining area. Through it he saw Leon cooking something.

"Sora's going to give you the grand tour this morning." Leon began with no preamble. "Something easy for him since he was up most of the night."

Zack nodded.

Riku chose then to make his appearance. He had thrown his silver hair into a tail and was wearing black pants and shirt that read 'live hard, die pretty'. Somehow it suited him. He grabbed a bottle of water and stalked to the front door. "I'll be with Cid."

He did not spare even a glance at Zack.

Sora frowned as the door slammed. "Well I _thought_ it was taken care of."

Leon sighed. "Go wake up Cloud."

"No way." Sora shook his head. "Last time I tried waking up Cloud I was almost chopped in half."

"I got it." Zack cracked his knuckles. "There's a trick to waking up Spiky."

He hiked up the stairs and walked down the hall, past the open room which he assumed was Leon's to the closed door. It was not actually latched shut so he kicked it fully open and strode in. "Wake up, grunt."

Cloud leapt out of bed in a panic, snapping to attention for a mere moment. Then his brain caught up with his body and he glared at Zack. "Fuck you, Zack."

"Ha!." The older man doubled over. "I can't believe that still works!"

The blonde relaxed and fingered his hair before wiping his face with his hand. "What do you want?"

"It's time to work, handsome."

Cloud groaned. "Why can't we ever have a day off?

"Take that up with the fearless leader; I'm just following orders."

Cloud rummaged through a drawer, pulling out some clothing. He grumbled to himself as he dressed, not caring that Zack was watching with that amused smile. "Did Riku leave?"

"Yeah, said he'd be with Cid."

"Bull." Cloud snorted. "He went to Sephiroth."

"What makes you say that?"

"He wants to know every little detail of our relationship. All last night he was grilling me about us." Cloud kicked a box to the side. "It's not enough that I've sworn my life to him, oh, no. He has to go on this insane jealous rant."

Cloud was really agitated. Clearly, Riku was acting completely irrationally to Zack's presence. The blonde stalked about a bit more, looking for something.

Zack sighed. "I'm sorry, Spike."

Cloud waved the apology off. "Don't be. You haven't done anything and I'm happy you're back. Riku's just being an ass. He'll get over it."

Zack tightened his mouth for a second. Cloud knew Riku better than he did and even Sora had said this would likely soon blow over. However, it did not stop Zack from feeling lousy about it. Maybe he could try talking to Riku himself.

"Come on." Cloud found his missing boot. "Better not get Leon mad at me, too."

They came downstairs and found Leon and Sora at the table. Sora grinned around a mouthful of food; Leon didn't look at them. "Everything's in the kitchen."

"What do you want, Spike?" Zack was already hitting the food.

"Just coffee."

Zack glared at him. He did not say a word and Cloud met the stare evenly. A silent battle of wills ensued and after a minute, neither had made progress. Intense blue eyes bore determinedly into set violet as both tried to make the other submit.

Finally, Zack chuckled and ended it. "At least eat a muffin. You like those."

"Fine."

From the corner of his eye, Zack caught Leon watching him. He glanced over and the man averted his gaze, returning to his coffee. That had been interesting.

Cloud literally gulped his coffee and shoved down his chocolate chip muffin. "What's the plan, Leon?"

"You have two options: dry walling that last block of houses or sodding yards."

"Drywall," Cloud immediately answered.

"If Sora and Zack finish early they can meet up with you. The sooner those interiors are finished the earlier you can start painting."

Cloud growled. "I'm not painting."

"Don't care." Leon stood. He cleared his table setting and took his Gunblade from along the wall. "See you tonight."

Cloud frowned deeply but silently followed him out.

Sora chuckled, finishing the clean up of the table. "And that was a typical morning exchange."

"Fun."

"Yep." Sora laughed. "All right, let's go find Sephiroth."

"Huh?"

"Well, you want to see him, right? We'll have to go through town to find him so you do two things at once."

Zack shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Besides, Riku will probably be with him." Sora opened the door. "It will be a good setting to try talking to him."

The First Class studied the back of the boy's head as he passed. Cloud had said the same thing about Riku's true location. As he followed Sora out, he wondered just what Sephiroth was telling the young man.

Sora pointed out everything Zack needed to know as they passed through the twisting streets and into the industrial section. There, he gave a brief explanation of the issues still plaguing them and how Riku, along with several others, had been working with Cid to fix them. He noted that even Sephiroth had been somewhat involved which did not surprise Zack at all. The man was a certified genius.

He pointed out the castle path, stating that it was where Leon was often found. Then they went down the ravine pass. As they headed deeper in, Zack looked around, taking in the purplish mountain sides.

"You know, this is not the outskirts of town."

Sora threw his hands behind his head as he walked. "Seph doesn't come to town often. When he does, he sticks to the outskirts. He actually lives in the Dark Depths."

"Oh, that sounds welcoming." Zack snorted.

"Riku's been trying to get him closer but Seph seems to think it would be too disruptive if he were a constant presence."

That made sense. "How much further?"

"Just past the crystal fissure." Sora answered.

As they got closer, Zack could make out two voices. One was the low, imperative yet slightly amused tone of his former superior, the other he recognized as Riku. He did not bother paying attention to the conversation; he knew what it was about. A few feet closer, the voices stopped.

Sephiroth knew they were approaching.

They rounded the jagged rocks into a large clearing. Sephiroth stood center left, facing them with a rather sardonic grin. Riku was further off, sitting on one of the outcroppings. He barely spared Zack a glance.

"Hey there, Seph." Zack waved approaching the long silver haired man. "Long time no sanity, huh?"

"Something like that." Was Sephiroth's dry reply. "I see the Lifestream has done nothing to stifle that insufferable sense of humor of yours."

He shrugged. "Made it worse actually."

Sephiroth nodded. "It seems you've created quite the stir."

"I didn't intend to." Zack folded his arms. "You know me better than anyone outside Cloud."

Sephiroth looked to Riku. "Indeed I do."

Riku turned away, seeming almost embarrassed. After a moment, he stood and walked directly to Zack. Riku was maybe an inch taller than Zack and seeing him this close the ex-SOLDIER could really notice the similarities between the two brothers.

The facial structures were identical, high cheekbones and narrow lower jaw. Their eyes were a bit different shades of green, Seph's more yellow and Riku's blue but the shape and slants were the same. The silver hair was also highlighted differently, the elder's a dark grey silver and the younger's a lavender shade.

One thing Zack noticed almost immediately was the two had the same expressions.

Riku's eyes were dark and a little apologetic. The rest of his face was neutral. "I'm… I regret my behavior yesterday. My reaction was uncalled for."

Zack nodded once. The boy was sincere , if not arrogant sounding. "Why don't we leave it at 'sorry for being an ass the other day'?"

Sora snorted. Riku studied the raven haired man intently for a long moment. Then a smirk crossed his face. "You really aren't that bad of a guy."

"Well, I would hope not." Zack grinned. "What would that say about your fiance's taste in men?"

Riku's mouth tightened but his eyes were suddenly bright with amusement. "That he knows how to upgrade."

Laughing, Zack turned to Sephiroth. "The kid is definitely your brother, Seph."

"I never doubted that fact."

"You're all weird," Sora announced loudly. "I'm going back."

"I'll come with." Riku moved away from Zack. "Thanks, Seph."

"Next time, perhaps trying to think with your head and not your libido would be a wise decision."

"But then I'd have no reason to drag my ass out here to see you." Riku smirked. "Now, if you lived closer to town, I'd come see you just for the hell of it."

Sephiroth simply looked at him.

Riku sighed. "You'll bring Zack back later, right?"

"Of course."

"Bye." Sora waved before he and Riku left the wide cliff-facing.

Zack focused his attention on Sephiroth, looking over him. His friend looked calmer than Zack had seen him in an entirely too long of a time. He was a bit surprised that he had three wings; Angeal and Genesis had only gotten one each. "Nice wings. They match you're, well, they don't really match anything."

Sephiroth gave him a pained look.

"Ok, ok." Zack held his hands up in a defensive position. "No wing jokes, I got it. Why is everyone so sensitive about that? I thought Angeal was gonna rip my head off the first time I talked to him about it. I still think they're pretty cool looking."

"They're a complete nuisance." Sephiroth countered. "They're awkward and get in the way."

Zack shrugged. "They're still cool looking."

"And they draw far too much attention." Sephiroth turned away, a few feathers molting in the wake of it.

"Ah!" Zack pointed. "So, that's the real reason you won't move closer to town. Mr. Isolationist doesn't want people looking at him. I never knew you were so vain, Seph."

"It's not vanity that keeps me from them." He spoke quickly. "I do not want to cause undue concern with my presence. I have done enough of that."

Zack frowned. Well, this was certainly different. While Sephiroth was always conscious of the attention he got, it had always been him who was uncomfortable with it. He avoided it because he did not like it.

He grinned. "Wow, Seph."

The tall man faced him with a raised eyebrow.

"You've really changed." Zack spoke with admiration. "I dare say you've matured some as weird as it sounds."

The former General studied him. A very faint smile lifted those rose colored lips. "I believe I understand what you are implying. I have come to realize that all life is to be respected. I am no more or less than anyone else; yet I am superior. It is a precarious balance."

Zack shook his head. Well, he had kind of changed. He doubted Sephiroth would ever be normal; he was too fundamentally different. At least now he was making the effort. "So basically, you won't mingle with the common folk because you don't want to intimidate them with your greatness."

"No, Zackary," Sephiroth said flatly. "I refuse to cause those people any more pain or stress. If I thought leaving this world would be beneficial, I would."

Zack gaped. Now that had been unexpected.

"I will do everything I can to atone for the horrors I have inflicted." Sephiroth continued. "I am aware that it is an impossible task but I will make the attempt none the less."

"Damn, Seph." Zack almost felt tears in his eyes. "Now I'm all vaclempt."

"Oh, quiet." Sephiroth waved a hand. "You've always been overly emotional."

Zack chuckled.

"Now, for my own peace of mind I do have to ask." Sephiroth looked him dead on. "Do you have any intention of interfering with Strife's current relationship?"

"No. Cloud clearly loves Riku, more than he ever loved me." Zack sighed. "It hurts some, yeah, but he's happy…happier than I've seen him in years."

"Yes. A bit ironic, is it not?" The black shoulder wing fluttered. "His source of joy comes from the same nightmare as the source of his pain."

Zack shrugged. "I don't even pretend to get that stuff."

"I should return you to town. They'll be wondering where you went."

"Trying to get rid of me already, huh?" Zack folded his arms. "I see how it is."

Sephiroth clasped his shoulder as he passed. "It is good to have you here, friend."

Zack watched him walk away, a crazy grin on his face. He could really get use to this Sephiroth. "Good to be here."

Sephiroth escorted him back through the mountains and down to the construction site. They did not talk but Zack was totally okay with that. He didn't feel the prior life's drive to make Seph smile or try to make him laugh. Sephiroth was at peace with himself and that was more than Zack ever expected to see.

It was about midday and the sun was beating down upon the world. Most things had dried out from the day before and the occasional worker passed them. No one spoke to them but there were a few nods and several slightly concerned glances. If this was what Seph got every time he came to town no wonder he avoided it.

Sora was standing close to Leon, looking over a blue print with him. It was almost too close and Zack found himself wondering just what the exact deal between those two was. He had not forgotten the off-comments that had been made the night before.

Sora glanced behind him and smiled brightly. "Hey, Seph!"

The winged man nodded.

Leon turned also, expression completely neutral. "Since you're here, Sephiroth, may I impose a favor from you?"

"Certainly." Sephiroth stepped up smoothly as Sora backed away and Leon began detailing the schematic he and Sora had been studying.

Sora came over to stand with his new friend. "Thank goodness you showed up. I have no idea what any of that was."

"He's certainly dedicated."

"Yep. I really admire that." Sora glanced at the leather clad man almost shyly. "Any one would be lucky to have him."

Zack bit his lip to keep from laughing at the boy. "Ever think of making a move on him?"

Sora blushed. "Leon and I… well, we kinda had something started but we ended it almost as quickly. I think we both realized that it wouldn't really work. I went through the same thing with Kairi."

"Who's Kairi?"

"She's a friend of me and Riku's. She's back on the island we came from." Sora frowned, a note of sadness in his voice. "I'm starting to think I'm gonna be one of those people who everyone loves but no one really loves, if that makes any sense."

In a twisted way it did. Zack found himself feeling bad for the kid. It must be hard to be him. "Yeah, I got ya."

Sora pursed his lips in an odd smile and he called out. "Hey, Leon."

"What?" He did not bother to look.

"I'm gonna take Zack over to the new houses."

"Make sure Cloud's still working."

"Oh, you know he isn't."

"Then find him, get him off of Riku, and send him back to where he's supposed to be."

"Damn," Zack muttered. "That's just cold."

Sora led him away. "Leon's been really tense lately. And his level of tolerance for Riku and Cloud has been, well, zero."

So the man was sexually frustrated. Sora was likely too inexperienced to understand that. It looked like Riku had been right. Zack wondered how much Sora had to do with that frustration. If the two had been sharing a bed for some time now, well, that could certainly cause a man some issue and with what Sora had said earlier….

Most of the houses surrounding them now looked finished on the outside. Some doors and windows stood open letting air pass through and allowing the easy removal of debris. The area smelled of fresh paint and cut wood.

"Alright, Cloud should be here." Sora walked up to one of the smaller houses near the end of the street. It was the last one in the row and from the look of things was where the housing would end. "Fifty munny says they're fooling around in one of the bedrooms."

Zack smirked. He knew Cloud all too well. "I say they never made it into the bedroom."

The front door was wide open and a quick look to the right showed no one in the main room. A faint groan however was heard from the direction of the kitchen. Sora weakly glared at Zack's smug expression as the man passed him and walked directly into the kitchen. "Come on, Spiky! You can make him moan louder than that!"

Sora giggled, following. Cloud did in fact have Riku pinned to the floor and his face was slowly turning away from Riku's flushed neck. He gave his ex a dirty look before, with clear reluctance, he got off of Riku. The younger one made a soft noise in the back of his throat, turning his head toward their unwelcome guests. "I hate you two so much right now."

"Yeah? I hate me too." Zack chuckled.

"You realize that made no sense, Zack," Cloud commented, holding out a hand to pull Riku off the floor.

"Yeah, it didn't, did it?" He scratched at the back of his head. Then he shrugged. "Oh, well."

"Leon send you?"

"Sort of," Sora answered. "We were gonna come over here anyway."

"I'm surprised he didn't."

"He's working with Sephiroth."

Cloud nodded. "Still having issues over there, huh? Well, if anyone figures it out it'll be him."

Riku leaned against a counter. "So, he basically told you since you were coming out here anyway to put us in separate corners and ordered us back to work."

"Actually," Zack corrected. "His words were to pull Cloud off of you so he can get back to work. Soooo if you wanted…"

Riku tilted his head with a wicked little grin. "You're really not too bad, Zack."

Cloud glanced between them with concern. He turned to Sora with an expression of near panic. "I'm in trouble now."

Zack stepped over to Riku and whispered something in his ear. The responding smile was enough to send Cloud toward the hall. "Okay, this cannot be good."

Riku followed him. "Oh, it won't be for you but I'm certainly going to enjoy it."

They disappeared from sight and Sora could hear Riku's laughter fade away.

"Leon's gonna kill you." Sora said certainly.

"Not if we finish the job for them." Zack shot back. "I can have this whole place walled in half the time Spiky could anyway. Come on."


	4. Chapter 4

Rewritten Sept 6.

* * *

Sora was shocked by how much they had gotten done. In under two hours, they had finished dry walling the house and taped it for priming the next day. They walked over to the next house to begin work on that one, idly chatting about nothing.

"Hey, Zack?"

"Yeah?"

"How come you're so okay with Riku?"

"What do mean?"

"Well, uh." Sora rubbed the back of his head. "I kinda had a thing for Riku for awhile and it really bothered me seeing him with Cloud. Sometimes, I just couldn't stand to be around them. Even now I sometimes get a little… bothered. But you, you actually had a relationship with Cloud and you seem, like totally fine he's with someone else."

Zack frowned thoughtfully. "Well, first of, I'm not totally fine about it. I'm just really good at dealing with things. Cloud and I didn't have much time together so I guess it never really was a relationship. We were really more of the best friends with benefits than a couple.

"I love that guy to death but I'm not what he needs. I can tell just by looking at Spiky how happy he is with Riku. There's a peace about him I've certainly never seen and I think he's finally found some value to his life. All he ever wanted was to be worth something and cared for and he's finally found that."

They entered the new house. Zack glanced at Sora with a wink. "I'll find somebody eventually. I always do. And I'm not a slut no matter what any of them tell you."

Sora sputtered a bit. "I didn't think that."

"Good. Seph used to say I'd fuck anything of the same species." Zack snorted. "That coming from him was a laugh. I'm still convinced he's a virgin."

Sora clearly did not believe that. "You think Sephiroth's a virgin?"

"Well, I've certainly never heard otherwise, at least nothing I believe. There were always rumors, of course, but it was obvious to me they were lies. If and or when Sephiroth takes a lover, it will be someone who has significant meaning to him. He's not the kind to fuck around, pardon the expression."

"I can't believe I just had a conversation about Sephiroth's sex life." Sora shook his head. "Or rather lack of."

Zack threw his head back and laughed. "You'd be amazed some the discussions me and him have had. Seph's a really fun guy if you can get him to open up a little."

"I guess," Sora said doubtfully.

"You'll see." Zack went over to the stack of plasterboard. "Come on. We should be able to finish this place by dinner."

About a half hour later, Riku showed up. He had a lazy grin on his face and anybody who so much as glanced at him would know what he had been doing all afternoon. "Damn you work fast."

"Yeah well," Zack drilled in the last anchor on the sheet Sora was holding in place. "Gotta keep in the fearless leader's good graces."

Riku chuckled. "Leon's a good guy but man is he driven."

"There's a lot to get done." Sora defended.

"I know." Riku agreed. "But you know as well as I do the real reason he's so totally thrown himself into all of this."

Sora shrugged a little.

Zack looked between the two curiously. The stoic brunette had managed to snag his attention. Something about the man tugged at him. From the little he'd seen, Leon was a unique mix, reminding him at times of both Cloud and Sephiroth. He found himself wanting to know more about him.

Then again, curiosity had always been one of Zack's greatest flaws.

"So, just what is the deal with that guy?" Zack took up the final sheet of dry wall for the room. He pulled it over and positioned it then Sora held it in place as he began drilling.

"Sora's the one to talk to if you want to know about Leon." Riku smirked at his best friend. "They're close."

"Ugh! Would you cut it out with that? You know what the deal is. I'm not sleeping with Leon! I'm not doing anything with him anymore!"

"Obviously," Cloud said dryly, coming up to stand beside Riku. "I don't think I've ever seen any one as sexually frustrated as Leon."

"Well, it's not my fault."

"Oh, you think?" Riku leaned against the wall. "Who's been sleeping in his bed with him ? Who was going to him for 'lessons'? Who flirts with him to this very day? I'd say you have a ton to do with it."

Sora frowned heavily. "I didn't mean…He said…"

"We know," Riku sighed, glancing at Cloud. "And Leon meant is when he said he was fine with the decision, hence why he hasn't said anything."

"And he will not use you for his own needs." Cloud added softly. "He has too much respect for you."

Zack had no idea what they were all talking about but listened intently. He was sure to pick up something from the conversation.

"Have I really been that difficult?" Sora looked extremely unhappy. "I don't want to be a burden for him."

"We know, Sora." Cloud stepped closer and shifted the dry wall a touch. "Let go."

Sora did as told and let Cloud take his spot. He slumped over to Riku and leaned against the wall beside him. "You know, I really thought I had the whole sex thing down."

"Oh, no." Riku laughed. "Until you actually do it, you'll still be clueless. Something just, wakes up inside you and it's all different."

"Wait, Sora's a virgin?" Zack stopped drilling and glanced down at Cloud.

"Oh no," Cloud spoke firmly. "No, Zack. Nuh uh. Forget that idea right now."

"But, Cloud…" He whined.

"No. You want another virgin conquest, start working on Sephiroth again. You will not corrupt Sora."

"Sephiroth is straight." Riku announced.

"So was I," Cloud muttered just as Zack laughed, "So was Cloud."

"Okay, you two are scary," Sora said.

"You and Riku do the same thing all the time." Cloud brushed white powder from his hair. "Think you could try to drill a little more dust on me, Zack?"

"I totally could or did you not notice Sora's new hair color."

"What?" Sora shook his head violently and puffs of white smoke spread out. "Ugh."

Riku stepped to the side in an effort to avoid the dust getting on his black clothes. "Hey, just cause Cloud's okay with the dandruff look doesn't mean I am."

"Fuck you, Riku."

"You already did twice today, sweetheart."

Zack chuckled. It pained him some but those two really did work for each other. He finished the last anchor and tossed the drill to the side. "Well, that's the equivalent of one full house in half a day. I rock."

Cloud gave him a withering look as he stood. "Yes, I know I'm pathetic when it comes to this stuff. I keep telling them but they keep making me do it anyway."

"What time is it?" Riku asked redundantly as he checked the time. "If we want to clean up before dinner, we should get out of here."

"Aerith will kill us if we don't."

All three others nodded in agreement.

On the way back to the house, Zack made the comment that he did not have any other clothes to change into. When Sora asked why they did not reek after however long, he shrugged. Then Riku whapped him on the back of the head, chastising him for asking stupid questions. All of them had gone through long periods of time in the same outfit before and no one bothered to question it before.

However, they did stop at one of the clothing shops and Cloud bought him three new outfits. Sora was impressed that the guy did not pick all black; there was way too much of that color around here. He swore sometimes he was surrounded by emos.

From there they went home. Sora felt a bit uneasy now calling it home. He really had not realized he was causing issues by being there; and as much as he liked Leon and enjoyed his company immensely, he just didn't want that kind of relationship with the guy.

Riku suddenly ruffled his hair on the doorstep and he squirmed away. "Don't worry about it too much, Sora. Leon will be fine."

"If you say so."

"He just needs to find an outlet," Riku explained. "Once he does that, everything will be back to normal."

"He'll be back to being stoic and distant as opposed to moody and bitchy." Cloud concluded, passing them by with Zack. "I'm calling shower first."

"I'm with him." Riku turned after him.

"Duh." Sora rolled his eyes.

"Does that mean I get Sora?" Zack asked hopefully.

"NO!" Cloud shouted back.

"Damn you, Cloud. Why won't you let me have any fun?"

Sora laughed, rubbing his neck. "You, uh, got a thing for virgins, huh?"

"Oh, Gaia, yes. Male, female, it doesn't matter." Zack shrugged. "I really get off knowing I'm the first to touch someone like that."

"Huh."

"Don't worry, kid. I'm one of the good guys. I ain't gonna mess with you." He looked suggestively at the small teen with those violet eyes. "Now, of course, if you at any point decide you want otherwise, I'm right there."

He blushed a bit, but nodded.

"Zack, stop propositioning Sora!"

Zack threw himself onto the sofa. "I hate when he does that. Course, Seph is worse."

He closed his eyes and breathed out. "I'm taking a nap. Wake me up when it's my turn."

Sora nodded though the man would not see it. He then went to his, or rather Leon's, room. He knew things were going to get awkward rather fast now that he was really aware of a few certain facts. He knew that Leon was not interested in him per say but the others were right. It had to be difficult to be isolated like Leon was, even if he had not chosen it.

As far as he could tell, Leon had not shown any interest in any one here. He knew Leon had been a serious relationship prior to coming here and she had been lost with their world. That had weighed on him heavily and was one of the main reasons for Leon's cold exterior. He also knew how passionately the man cared about those around him.

The distance was a way to protect himself from further heartbreak. From what he pieced together, Leon had a fear of abandonment worse than Cloud's. Sora knew he was the only person to get as close to Leon as he had. Even Cloud, whom Leon freely admitted was his best friend, probably did not understand Leon as well as Sora did.

For once, Cloud and Riku did not waste time in the shower and were back out fairly quickly. Riku poked his head in for a second to tell him they were out and disappeared again. Sora shook himself of his thoughts, gathered up the few things he wanted and headed in.

--0—0--

Zack really was not sleeping but lying in a restorative state. He had long since stopped really needing to sleep, the Mako enhancements had seen to that. He and Cloud could easily go for three days without sleep. Sephiroth and probably Riku could handle a week.

A damp towel hit his face. He did not bother moving it. "Sora in there now?"

"Yeah."

"Good. White hair doesn't suit him."

Riku laughed as he got a drink. "Once when we were like, jeeze, I think seven or eight, Tidus and I convinced Sora to wash his hair with bleach. We told him it was a special shampoo that would make his hair nice and flat. He's always had those damn spikes.

"His hair was like straw for a week! It was hilarious. Eventually, he convinced his mom to cut it real short but it was still blonder than Cloud's."

Zack removed the wadded towel from his face and sat up. "During the war with Wauti, we were out in the eastern jungle, waiting for the scouts to return. There were all kinds of exotic planets that they of course didn't bother to tell us about, some of them carnivorous. So, me and Angeal are in our small clearing with seven grunts waiting when we hear this commotion from the left.

"Now Sephiroth's squad was over there and I knew something big had to be happening over there for Seph to allow any kind of noise so Angeal told me to check it out and I snuck my way over. I get to their post and his troops are just looking scared as all hell.

"I'm about ready to draw my sword when I catch something behind me. I turned quickly and there's Sephiroth, leather coat all ripped up, metal armor gone, several scratches along his arms and chest." Zack grinned. "And completing the picture, that gorgeous silver hair of his was completely orange."

Riku spat his water out. Cloud raised an eyebrow. "You never told me about that."

"I don't normally talk about that campaign." A shadow crossed the First Class's face.

"Right."

"Anyway, it stayed that color no matter what Seph did. When we got back to Midgar, Hojo nearly had a coronary. He was convinced Seph had done it on purpose and it wasn't until he was given the dead plant and studied it did he believe us."

"So what caused it?" Riku asked.

"The acid it used to digest the metal of his shoulder armor reacted with Seph's hair, dying it. Took nearly a month for it to fade out and he couldn't simply re-dye it because the chemicals would have reacted weird and made the change permanent."

"Nice."

"Yep. Seph came so close to just shaving it all off. The President actually issued an order to see that he didn't."

"Shinra Sr. did have a sick fixation on Sephiroth's hair." Cloud noted.

Sora came out about then, rubbing his hair dry. "What were you talking about?"

"Riku bleaching your hair." Zack informed him, grabbing Cloud's used towel and moving past the youngest in the room.

Sora glared daggers at Riku. "You promised you'd never tell that story!"

"Sorry?" The silver haired one smiled.

"I hate you."

"Was already aware but thanks for the reminder."

In under ten minutes, Zack was back out, dressed in his new purple, sleeveless, ribbed shirt and black cargo shorts. He shook his raven hair out a bit but it was already mostly dry. "Well, girls, are we ready?"

Riku snickered at Cloud's pained look. "I hate when you say that."

"Reno thought it was hilarious."

"Reno is a sick, twisted fuck even for a Turk."

"True."

And with that, they were off to Aerith's. Her house had become the official dinner location every night; it was just easier that way. Riku and Leon would take turns helping her, this week was Leon's. Sora always got table duties.

Cid sat outside, pen in his mouth as he looked over a paper. "Why the fuck isn't this…?"

"What's wrong now, Cid?" Riku moved to the side to glance at the sheet. "Oh, this mess."

"Leon's got his leathers up his ass now wanting it fixed." Cid grumbled. "Sephiroth fixed the other issue. He's here, by the way."

"Thanks for the warning," Cloud mumbled. "Staying for dinner?"

"Yep."

Cloud grimaced but walked into the house. Riku patted Cid's shoulder. "After dinner, I'll get Seph to go over it with me. We'll get it figured out."

He thrust the paper at the teen. "All yours."

Zack and Sora followed those two in. Sephiroth was sitting casually on the sofa, sans his wings. Cloud was leaning on the wall near the stairs. It was not quite clear across the room but still relatively distant.

"Hey, Seph." Zack waved.

"Hello, Zachary."

Sora automatically began setting dishes. Zack decided to resume his job from the prior night and retrieved the silverware. He ducked into the kitchen and quickly noticed Aerith was not present. Leon was at the counter beside the stove, slicing cooked meat into strips.

"Do I want to know what was done over there?"

Zack snorted and went to retrieve his items. "That depends if you can handle some positive news."

The former SeeD glanced over. "The walls got finished?"

"And most of next door."

Leon watched him a moment before a faint smile appeared. "Maybe you will be worth it."

Zack met those steel eyes. "One never knows until they give it a shot."

He took the silverware out to the table, a little smirk on his face.

Yuffie was oddly subdued over dinner, likely due to their unexpected dinner guest. As it was, said guest and the prior evening's new arrival kept up a steady conversation. While Zack was certainly the more animated one, Sephiroth added his own commentary to Zack's tales and a few times Cloud even spoke up.

Riku was clearly ecstatic about this, simply sitting back and watching his 'family' interact as a family was supposed to. Cloud seemed more comfortable than he ever had in Sephiroth's presence and he knew he had Zack to thank for that. His earlier jealousy was completely eradicated.

Sora, while he also was happy to see the frivolity, kept finding his attention drifting toward Leon. The man was covertly keeping his eye on the raven haired SOLDIER. Sora found himself hoping that he was not reading too much into it but it seemed to him the man had an attraction to Zack. It would certainly take a load off his mind if he did.

Inevitably, the tone of conversation turned.

Sora only half-paid attention but after a few minutes, Sephiroth politely excused himself and left. Riku frowned heavily at Cloud who was sulking. Zack just shook his head and stood. Without asking, he began clearing the table.

Sora moved to help but Leon stepped in before him, gathering the little remaining food up and taking it into the kitchen. Zack scraped a couple of plates into the trash, sparing a quick glance at the other. Leon repackaged the food and the two worked silently. Sora came in a few times with the rest of the dishes.

On the last run, the teen let them know that Cloud and Riku had left bickering. That meant they would either spend the night not speaking or fucking each other senseless. Either way, it was a situation neither Sora nor Leon wanted to deal with.

"Hey, they got a bar around here?" Zack suddenly asked.

"Yeah," Sora answered. "Tifa's got one across town."

"Cloud's friend Tifa?" Zack grinned. "The one with the rack?"

Leon snorted. "Yeah, her."

"Sweet." Zack threw his last plate into the sink. "Let's go."

"What?" Sora blinked. This was sudden.

"Fine." Leon agreed. "You coming, Sora?"

Sora glanced between them. "Actually, I'm gonna stay here and help Aerith for a bit."

"Cool." Zack waved and literally pushed Leon out the back door. "Tell her not to wait up."

--0—0—

An hour later, Zack and Leon were on their fourth shots and third beer and alcohol had definitely loosened the other man up and Leon was rather openly conversing. "I hated that dog. I put up with it cause Rinoa just loved her precious little puppy but if I could have made it mysteriously disappear, I would have."

Zack chuckled, swirling his drink. "I love animals, I'm just no good with them. Cloud's got a real gift with them though he'll never admit to it. Especially chocobos."

"That's because he looks like a chocobo." Leon snorted.

Zack smirked. "His nickname with the other grunts was chocobo-head."

"He'd probably kill us if we restarted that one."

"And not even a phoenix down would revive us." Zack gulped the rest of his tequila.

Leon pushed his glass away. "I'm done."

"I think you're past done."

"Ugh, I don't want to go home." Leon groaned, fingering his scar. "Between the sex fiends next door and Sora rubbing up on me half the night, I'm shocked I'm still sane."

"So don't go home. Crash at Aerith's."

"I don't want to incon- con, bother her." Leon fumbled out. He waved exaggeratedly. "It's fine."

Zack studied the man a moment then stood. "Come on, you can bunk with me; get some real sleep. That room is huge."

Leon looked at him oddly before nodding.

They walked back to the house, Leon making a few off-handed comments about the occupants of some of the houses they passed. The man had a scathing sense of humor that Zack found wonderfully entertaining. Even though he did not know the people, he was able to further many of the comments and both were chuckling and snorting by the time they walked up to the house.

Zack went inside first, catching a stumbling Leon. He knew Leon was not nearly as drunk as he was behaving. It was mostly the poor quality of sleep and stress of the past few nights. Leon's arm ended up around his shoulders.

They headed up the stairs as quietly as they could. Zack's room was at the end of the hall and silently passed the girls' rooms. "Got Cid's room, huh?"

"Yeah." Zack opened the door. "It's kinda nice actually. It's pretty isolated from the girls."

"That's why Cid got it." Leon snickered. "Poor guy living with Yuffie. He's got nothing but my respect for that."

They ducked in, shutting the door quietly behind them. Leon sat on the bed, glancing around himself. He looked a bit concerned. "Are you sure about this, Zack? You don't even know me."

Zack liked hearing that uncertain tone in his voice. He doubted very many people had heard it before. His feet slowly carried him over and he sat near the man, one leg thrown up against Leon's thigh. "It's fine."

"I don't like depending on others."

"I can tell." He really wanted to help this man. He felt a connection to him, much as he had the first time he met Cloud and to a much lesser degree, Sephiroth. There was just something…

Almost automatically, he reached up and traced the scar across the center of Leon's face. "How did you get this?"

"Seifer." Leon nearly whispered. His eyes had locked onto Zack's. "I gave him an identical one."

Zack studied him. "It's perfect on you."

Leon frowned a little. Before he could say anything, Zack pressed in and kissed him. Not even a moment passed before Leon was responding to it eagerly. A battle for dominance began as both tried to press their advantage. Leon was in the better position but Zack was stronger.

Zack won out and pressed Leon back onto the bed. Leon was already clawing at the other's clothes as Zack dug his fingers into his chest and his mouth attacked that neck. It was terribly easy for him to literally tear off Leon's shirt, casting it hastily to the side.

Leon meanwhile had managed to get Zack's shirt up and Zack pulled away long enough for it to be pulled off of him. Then he was back on Leon, biting at his chest as Leon began frantically tugging at the older man's waist. Now that both were half-clothed, Zack suddenly lifted his head and stared down at Leon.

He met those steel blue eyes, confirming that this was what the other man wanted. Those eyes stared back into violet with intense want and need. That was all the consent that was required.

Leather pants were quickly stripped off and after a moment of fumbling, Zack's shorts were gone. Hands explored skin for only a few minutes before that driving need again took over. Not at all gently, Leon took control and flipped their positions.

Zack was not at all use to being on the receiving end but for tonight, he decided he would work with it. Leon was lost in a haze of lust and Zack very much enjoyed it. He was uncertain if there had been men before him and if this made the man comfortable, he was all for it.

There was no real preparation, only a quick whisper of consent before Zack was taken. Leon was aware enough to not just force himself into the SOLDIER but with no lubrication outside of some saliva, it was still a rough process. He groaned at the intrusion but it didn't hurt as much as he feared. Leon waited a moment for him to adjust, still silent. Then he started moving and there would be no stopping him until he was done.

A series of grunts and low moans lead into their completion, first Leon than Zack. The sable-haired man dropped beside his bedmate, breathing erratically. Zack managed to move enough to get the folded comforter at the end of the bed and placed it over them.

Tomorrow, they would have to talk about this. For now, they would just sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Rewritten Sept 8.

* * *

Sunlight filtered in and Leon folded the pillow to cover his face. It took a moment for him to realize it was coming in from the wrong direction. He lifted his head, took a quick look around and fell back heavily onto the pillow, last night coming rushing back to him.

He _never_ did things like this. He was not interested in quick fucks or one night stands and to top it off he had known Zack for all of two days. How the hell did this happen?

Groaning, he sat back up and massaged his forehead. He did not want to think about all the potential fallout this could create. He swung his legs from the bed, wondering where Zack had gone. He would have to apologize.

His pants were neatly folded on the desk and his boots set on the nearby floor. Hanging from the back of the chair was a grey shirt. Zack had taken the time to set up clothes for him. He supposed that was a good sign.

He quickly dressed and braced himself for the inevitable morning after confrontation. He slowly descended the stairs, not wanting this to happen faster than necessary. No, he never shyed away from problems but that did not mean he was eager to face them.

No one was in the front room. He moved on through past the dinning area and placed a hand on the swinging door. A silent sigh and he pushed it open.

Aerith was sitting at the small breakfast table, several pictures of flowers and various other small decorations spread out before her. She must be working Cloud and Riku's wedding details this morning. Obviously she was not concerned with the couple's recent fighting. She glanced up and smiled at him. "Morning, Leon."

She did not look the least bit troubled. Maybe she didn't know.

"Zack was right, that color is good on you."

So much for that hope.

"He's out back." She smiled a bit more. "We already made excuses for your absence and Cloud and Riku have been overseeing both projects."

"They still bickering?"

"They're keeping to opposite sides of town."

"Great." Leon sighed. He felt the need to say something. "Look, Aerith…"

"Good things often come unexpectedly." Aerith turned back to her photos, picking up her pen. "Thinking too much about the potential problems only prevents the positives from coming to light."

Leon frowned. He never was very good at understanding Aerith's little bits of insight; that was Cloud's thing. However, he knew that she made for a good barometer to gauge things by and so far, she did not seem the least troubled by whatever it was she knew.

He nodded at her and went out the back.

Zack was kneeling in the flower garden, pulling weeds. There was a slight breeze and it appeared rain was moving in again. Leon studied the man carefully, taking in the muscled upper body. Zack truly was an attractive guy and he did not look like anyone Leon had known before.

That jet black hair which was somehow a tamed mess rested on his shoulders and despite the length never covered his face. He had to admit those violet eyes caught his attention every time he caught sight of them and then there was that body. All hard lines and toned, not overdone but definitely enough.

Then the former SeeD's thoughts shifted. Zack was so different than everyone here. It was difficult to believe that he and Cloud had been involved, even harder to see him as Sephiroth's best friend. Then again, now that he was thinking about it, maybe it was not so strange.

Something about Zack just captured his attention and held it. Only one other had ever done that.

"Hey."

Leon blinked, breaking out of his thoughts. He folded his arms, not meeting the other's eyes. "Hey."

"Sorry about your shirt." Zack wiped his forehead with his arm, chuckling lightly. "I got a little carried away."

"I think that might be an understatement."

Zack frowned. He moved to sit on his butt and placed his hands in his lap. He bit his lower lip before glancing at Leon from an angle. "You're regretting it."

Something in his voice troubled Leon and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know." He laughed once uncomfortably. "I honestly don't know. This is a total first for me."

"Which part?" Zack snorted.

"Pretty much all of it."

"I had a feeling." Zack nodded. "Hence why I surrendered top spot to you."

"Uh, thanks?"

The ex-SOLDIER shrugged. "It's not a bad position, being bottom. I'm just not used to it."

Silence stretched between them, not nearly as awkward as Leon thought it should be. He still felt uneasy about the whole thing but strangely… excited? This whole thing confused him.

"The only one who actually knows anything happened is Aerith," Zack said casually. "If you don't want it getting out, we can keep it quiet."

"No." The scarred man nearly snapped. "I mean, it's alright. Obviously I don't want my sex life paraded around but don't have to go out of your way to hide it."

Zack gave him an odd look. He leapt casually to his feet and approached the younger man. Standing very close, he studied those grey eyes, searching them. Suddenly, his own eyes darkened. "I'm not looking for commitment."

Leon smirked. "I tend to let those I commit to down."

"Then we're perfect, right?"

"………."

Zack laughed. "Fine, don't talk then."

He gripped the back of Leon's neck and pulled him close. He leaned in and whispered into his ear. "So do we make this a casual thing or keep it a one night stand?"

Feeling oddly emboldened, the brunette muttered back, "I thought you didn't want me to talk."

He could feel Zack's smirk. "Then don't use words."

That was easy enough for Leon. He twisted his head back and pressed his lips tightly to Zack's. As h did, he inwardly laughed at himself. Yesterday morning, he never would have imagined himself in this position. Now, all he wanted was to continue feeling this man's body pressed against his.

Zack's hands were placed on his waist, keeping him close. Leon found his hands tangled up in that thick black hair and the owner of that hair swiped his tongue along his bottom lip, waiting to be allowed into his mouth. He easily permitted it entrance and one hand dropped a bit lower, his thumb tracing earlobe.

Apparently neither wanted to stop for air.

A light clearing of throat finally got them to pull apart. Aerith stood in the patio doorway, a small smile on her face. "Sorry to interrupt but I think they really need Leon at the library. Sora's been looking all over."

Leon nodded, moistening his kiss-swollen lips.

Zack merely stepped away. "Call if you need me."

That could be taken so many ways now and Leon's lip curled. "I will."

He turned to leave, noticing Aerith's rather intense look at him. She seemed a bit concerned but he would have to deal with it later. Eventually, he knew he needed to talk to her about this. He was not sure what he was going to tell Cloud but at least that could wait.

He walked briskly across town, waving a little at some of the people who greeted him. It was not normal of him but at the moment he didn't particularly care. There was nothing wrong with being in a good mood once in a while.

It did not take long after arriving at the library to see what the trouble was.

Riku had taken control of the library project and apparently was in a horribly foul mood today. Leon's guess was Cloud was still acting out about whatever it had been that set him off last night. Someone was going to have kick Cloud's ass out of it but this time it would not be him. It would probably end up being Zack once he knew about it.

In turn, Riku was taking out his frustrations on the workers under his charge. Everyone looked perfectly miserable and there had to be a revolt forming. Glancing around, it was obvious almost no progress had been made. For whatever reason, this did not really bother Leon at the moment.

Riku was arguing with the guy in charge of rebuilding the grand staircase on the left and Leon walked up to them calmly. "Problems?"

Riku whirled on him. "Thank the worlds! I'm so done with this!"

He stalked off, leaving Leon with the workers. It took all of five minutes to rectify the situation, after five minutes of hearing how pissy Riku was today. Then Leon did the unthinkable; he told them once they finished with the current project, everyone could go home. It was only a few hours early but Leon had been such a workaholic lately it was a total shock.

Not that anyone would argue with him about it.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Leon asked easily, looking over the progress that had been made on the ceiling.

Riku studied Leon from his perch on the railing of the lesser right staircase. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully for a moment before a smirk lit his face. "You got laid."

"What?"

Riku hopped down. "You got fucked last night, didn't you?"

Leon raised an eyebrow at him.

"Bout time Sora put out. I don't know how you held out this long."

"I didn't fuck Sora."

Riku tilted his head. "Ok, not Sora...he probably would have told me. Then again, I haven't been in a good mood today."

"Cloud still being argutive?"

"No, he's being an ass." Riku corrected with a glare. "But I'm not talking about Cloud right now. I'm talking about you. So, if not Sora than who?"

"It isn't your business." Leon scowled.

"Oh, please tell me it wasn't a complete stranger. Those drunken one night stands only create problems."

Well, it wasn't a complete stranger.

"Didn't you go to Tifa's with Zack last night? That's what Sora said you ended up doing. Then this morning when no one could find you, Aerith said you'd had a bit of a rough night and Zack said…" The teen trailed off slowly. "Whoa, hold on, you didn't…"

Leon turned away under the pretense of studying the stairs.

"Oh, hell no." Riku threw his head back, half- turning and placed his hands on his hips. "Zack? You slept with Zack? Cloud is going to freak."

"Why?" Leon suddenly gave him a hard look. "It's not like they're together any more."

Riku frowned. That sounded awfully defensive. Maybe Leon really was worried about how Cloud would react to this. Then again, Riku could not be certain of his lover's reaction to this. While he had no doubts that Zack and Cloud's sexual relationship was done and over, the two were still extremely close. Leon had become Cloud's best friend.

This could potentially get really awkward.

-0—0-

Zack continued with the weeding as Aerith watched. He knew she had something she wanted to say but what that was he could not decide. He knew it would be important and likely something he didn't want to think about right now. After a few minutes he sighed. "Alright, Aerith. Let's hear it."

"Leon's heart is very fragile."

"Good thing I'm not planning to mess with it."

"Not intentionally."

He turned toward her. "What do you mean by that?"

"Leon is not the type to just let anyone in. In order for last night to have happened, he had to have some kind of genuine feeling toward you. He likely isn't aware of it himself for he has become extremely out of touch with his own emotions." Aerith folded her arms. "And I know you. You feel something for him otherwise you would have not warned him about not wanting a commitment."

Zack made a face at her. "I was being honest. I'm always honest with everyone I get involved with, you know that."

"Not like that, you aren't." Her voice got uncharacteristically stern. "My point is, make sure that above all else, the two of you communicate. Both of you could very easily suffer if you don't."

Zack bit his lip but nodded. He knew Aerith was only saying this out of concern but he really did not think it would be an issue. Hell, he was not even sure if there was going to be another time. Last night could have easily been a fluke and this afternoon a lingering effect.

"Are you going to tell Cloud?"

Zack shrugged. "I guess I should. I mean, Leon is his best friend and all."

"So are you, Zack." Aerith added. "He'll want to know."

"Yeah." He stood. "Where is he any way?"

"Phase Two of the housing, same place as yesterday."

"Or rather where he should have been." Zack smirked. "Hadn't been with him a day and I was already covering his ass. I don't know what Spiky does to me but it's annoying as hell."

"Oh, you love him."

"Absolutely." Zack grinned stretching back his arms. "Weeding's done."

"Thank you." Aerith looked over her flowers. "I miss my old garden but this one has its own unique beauty."

Zack stepped over and threw an arm around her waist. "Yeah, that old church saw a lot of things, didn't it?"

"It did."

He sighed and kissed the side of her face. "Better go check up on our boy. See you tonight, sweetheart."

-0—0-

Sora exhaled in defeat as Cloud threw his hammer against the wall placing a large hole in it. That was the third one today. Unfortunately, he did not have any suggestions or alternative things for the older man to do. Cloud had volunteered to oversee things during Leon mysterious absence. That meant he had to work, too.

Where had Leon gone to anyway?

Regardless, Cloud had started in a foul mood and it had only gotten steadily worse. Now he was cussing out anyone who would dare look at him. Maybe Sora should just tell him he had it covered and to go home. Then again, maybe he should lock Cloud and Riku in a room together for about two hours.

They had been arguing a lot lately. Supposedly, this was a normal phase in relationships but Sora still did not like it, especially when it was those two. They had too many real problems to be creating more for themselves. He supposed it was a good thing they were doing it now rather than after getting married.

"Hey, Cloud?"

"What?" The blond replied tersely, picking up the spackle to fill in the hole he made.

"Why don't you go check on how the yard's doing? You know I know nothing about grass and that. Unless it's a palm tree, I'm clueless."

"Fine." He slammed the container and spreader down. He walked out in a huff and Sora prayed the guys outside could handle him. They had been pre-warned.

He spackled the wall quickly then went back to primering the other one. Sora was surprised how much he liked doing all this building. It was rather cool seeing how everything came together and knowing he helped create something that would provide a safe place for some family.

"Hey, Sora."

He grinned at the new voice. Oh, things were about to get fun again. "Hi, Zack."

"Where's Spiky sulking?"

"Out back. After the third hole in the wall, I had to get rid of him somehow."

Zack laughed. "So he's still being a little bitch, huh?"

"Yeah." Sora turned to him. "You know, just what are they going on about this time? I don't even know."

"Oh, Sephiroth said something Cloud didn't like so he retorted. Of course, Seph said something back and it went from there."

"What did he say?"

"He made a dig at Cloud not making it into SOLDIER. It was pretty funny, actually, but Spiky's still kinda sore about that. Then Cloud mumbled something about at least he was sane and Seph replied that it wasn't SOLDIER that made him crazy." Zack suddenly chuckled. "Then Cloud called him a Mama's boy."

Sora gaped. "Wait, I missed that? How did I miss that! That would have been hilarious!"

"Oh, did I have to keep from laughing!" Zack slapped his own stomach. "Anyway, yeah. It just went down hill from there."

"So basically, Cloud's PMS'ing."

"Isn't he always?" Cid appeared in the doorway. He leaned against the door jam, a lollipop again in his mouth and a light smirk touching his lips. His eyes were riveted on Zack. "Found something interestin' in my room 'bout an hour ago."

"Oh, yeah?" Zack moved to help Sora, rolling the brush with primer and taking it to the wall. "And what might that be?"

"Leon's shirt from yesterday ripped in fucking half." The smirk grew. "Looked like it'd been thrown in the corner rather carelessly."

Zack only paused for a second. "Yeah, so?"

Sora had frozen and was openly staring at the black-haired ex-SOLDIER. That was what made Zack squirm. "You, you slept with _Leon_?"

Zack glanced at the boy from the corner of his eye. He had a hard time reading the teen's expression. Shock was the obvious one but there were a few other things mixed in. He saw disbelief and even some disappointment. It also looked like relief managed to get in there.

Well, Zack never pulled his punches and he wasn't going to start now. "Uh, yeah. I guess that kinda kills my not a slut comment earlier, huh?"

Sora made a half-shrugging, half- nodding motion.

Cid took the candy from his mouth. "I swear to fucking Shiva I don't know what I'm doing with you shitheads. I'll be in the back working on the environmentals."

"Hey, uh, Cid-" Zack began.

"I'm leaving Spiky to you and Leon," Cid said over his shoulder. "I want nothing to do with it. Bad enough it was in my bed."

"Uh, sorry?"

"Just make sure the sheets are clean."

He walked off, leaving the two alone. Zack turned to Sora, fingers threading through his black hair. He was not sure if he should say anything to the kid or not. It was obvious Sora and Leon had a rather complex relationship with Leon. "So, uh, looks like everyone's hearing about this sooner than I thought."

"Word spreads fast with us. It's near impossible to keep secrets." Sora forced out a laugh. He rubbed the back of his head. "Wow. I really wasn't expecting to hear that."

"Does it bother you?"

"No, well," Sora's face scrunched up. "It does a little, I guess. I don't really know. I'm not mad about it though."

"Well that's good."

"Yeah. I'm gonna have to think about it." Sora slowly got out. "Leon can do what ever he likes with who ever he wants but I sorta… I don't know."

"You like him." Zack flat out stated.

Sora nodded. "But, I don't _like_ him. I mean, yeah I depend on him and it's really fun flirting with him and he's a _really_ great kisser-"

"Tell me about it."

"-but I never wanted more from him. I guess it's just a really strong attraction more than anything. I've been unfair to him, kinda teasing him, huh?"

"You'd have to talk to him about that."

"Yeah, I do want to talk to him." Sora grinned. "Best get the fake relationship completely closed so he can move on to the real one."

Zack bit his lip. He did not think there was going to be a real relationship. Whatever it was that went on with Leon was likely to remain at the casual fucking stage indefinitely. Somehow, he doubted Sora would understand that.

He decided not to say anything.

Sora's phone rang and he sighed. "Oh, this better be work related."

He took the device from his back pocket. "Hey, Riku. What? No, I sent him outside after he kept making more work for me. Yeah, Zack's here, why? Uh, okay."

He took the phone from his ear. "Wants to talk to you."

"Why?" Sora shrugged as he took it from him. "What's up? Uh, yeah. Yeah, sounds like him. Okay. Yeah, I can handle that, when? Oh, he did. You do? Man, everyone knows! No, he doesn't and I want to be the one to tell him."

There was a long pause and Zack frowned. "Yeah. That might be best. Okay. I'm on it."

He hit the disconnect and handed the little red phone back to Sora. "Leon showed up at the library and told everyone they could go home early."

"Really?" Sora lifted an eyebrow. "Must be in a good mood."

Zack shrugged. "Getting laid can do that."

Sora snickered but a definite shading of pink came to his cheeks. "Well, I guess we can call it a day too, huh?"

"That's what Riku figured. He wants me to help him with a little project." Zack started closing up primer cans while Sora gathered the rollers and other odd bits.

They went toward the front door to leave and Sora glanced shyly over. "Hey, Zack?"

"What's up, Sor?"

"Uh." He hesitated then spit out. "What's Leon like…you know?"

Zack smirked with a laugh. "Ask me that again after I've had a few more rounds, kid. Once just isn't enough to answer a question like that."


	6. Chapter 6

THis chapter is a bit more graphic. Rewritten Sept 10.

* * *

Cloud was angrily hacking at strips of sod, most likely under the pretense of shortening the pieces to fit the odd sections of yard. His jaw was locked and he jerkily used a small cutter to slice the pieces. He tossed the smaller ones to the side and laid the other on a pile of like sized ones.

"Hey, Spiky, let's go!" Zack shouted. "We've been sprung."

Cloud looked at him startled. "Huh?"

"Everyone's got the rest of the day off!" He explained happily.

"How did that happen? Leon get laid last night or what?"

Zack shrugged. It was going to keep coming back to that, wasn't it?

"Well, good for him," Cloud muttered, throwing the cutter into a box before wiping his hands on the sides of his pants. "Least someone's happy."

"Spiky," Zack tsked. "Just freakin' let it go, man."

"I'm not the one being stubborn." The blonde snarled. He walked over to Zack. "Where's Sora?"

"He went ahead." Zack threw an arm around the smaller man's shoulders. "So we're all alone, baby. Now tell Daddy what the real problem is."

Cloud shrugged away. "For the love of Shiva, Zack, I hate when you call yourself that."

"Then talk or I'll keep doing it."

With a heavy sigh, Cloud stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I don't really know what it is. Riku's just, been really irritating me lately. Last night was just too much I guess. I don't know."

Zack folded his arms thoughtfully as they walked. "How long were you with me, Cloud?"

"Three months."

"You haven't dated anyone else, right?"

"Dated? No." Cloud glanced at him. "A few brief flings."

"So Riku's the longest relationship you've had, right?"

"Almost three years." One corner of his lip curled up.

Zack noted the soft smile. That's quite a bit of time."

"It doesn't seem that long." The younger man lifted his left hand and absently toyed with the ring on his finger. "Maybe it's because so much has happened during that time…our relationship has a lot to do with what we were going through."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Even under normal circumstances, all relationships go through rough spots, or so I've heard."

Cloud was silent.

"I'm sure Riku knows it's just a phase. He seems pretty observant. You'll work through it, I know you will"

The blonde snorted, dropping his hands. "You didn't hear him last night. He was so angry with me. He just doesn't realize how hard it is for me to simply be civil around Sephiroth. I see him and I still have to fight not to run him through or try to tear off a wing or something."

"I don't imagine that would go over too well." Zack agreed.

"I know I have to deal with him. He's Riku's brother and Riku loves him as if they'd known each other their whole lives. Sephiroth acts so different around him, it's easy to forget who he was. But I just, can't forget. I've forgiven him for what he's done but I know I'll never forget."

"That's all that can be expected of you, Cloud," Zack said slowly. "Riku doesn't have the right to ask for more nor does Sephiroth, though I doubt he's even asked for forgiveness."

Cloud snorted. "He stared at me almost blankly and said he would not accept my forgiveness until he earned it. How the hell he thinks that's going to happen I don't know."

"He'll find a way." Zack grinned. "This is Seph we're talking about."

"True."

They walked the rest of the way to the house in comfortable silence. Cloud clearly felt much better about things for his expression had gone to neutral. Zack hoped that Riku's little plan for tonight finished the job. Riku knew full well he had been an ass and really wanted to make up for it.

At the house, Zack followed Cloud in, deciding to wait for him before heading for dinner. The older of the pair flopped himself down on the sofa as Cloud went off to shower. He threw his head back with a loud sigh and closed his eyes.

He should have expected things to be different now but he really had not been prepared for just how much so. His little Cloud, whom he had worried so much over, had spent an in-calculable amount of time observing along with Aerith, concerned with his state of mind, had found his light and was genuinely happy. It brought him great joy and more than a little pain.

But that was all right. Only an idiot would think that it was easy to simply stop loving someone. Love did not stop, it changed, evolved. He loved Cloud with everything he had but that had quickly changed with his rebirth from romantic to an almost familiar type. It made sense; they had started as a brotherly type pair.

He suddenly felt eyes on him disturbing his thoughts. He didn't bother looking to see who it was. "See something you like?"

"Of course. I did pick the sofa out."

Zack laughed richly, lifting his head. Leon was smirking at him. The brunette quickly turned away and went in the kitchen. After getting himself some water, he returned.

"Where's mine?" Zack frowned. "I could use a drink."

"You have legs." Leon walked over and settled himself on the other end of the couch.

"You're cruel. Making me get up and move when all I want is one crummy sip of water."

Leon took a long drink, consuming nearly half the bottle. He then held it out to the other. Zack studied him for a moment before slowly taking it. Grey eyes remained steady on violet as the rest of the bottle was emptied.

Zack held the bottle over the arm rest, tapping it. "I guess I should throw it away since I finished it."

"Would be nice."

Zack leaned forward slightly toward the other man. He had meant to get up, meant to actually throw the thing away. Instead, he found himself in a furious lip lock, bottle dropped on the floor. He half-lay on top of Leon, one hand braced on the furniture back and the other tightly gripping a chunk of brown hair. Leon in turn had both hands on Zack's hips.

A full two minutes passed before Zack pulled away. They stared at each other for a moment, searching lust filled eyes for something neither was sure of. There was something happening here but what it was exactly they were uncertain of.

The sound of a door opening broke the moment and Zack picked up the dropped bottle. He walked toward the kitchen as Cloud appeared. He looked at Zack as he passed and an odd expression crossed his face for a brief instant. Those blue eyes flicked toward Leon.

"You two ready to go?" He asked, tone normal as he laced his fingers through his hair to somewhat straighten his blonde spikes.

"Give it up, Spiky. They'll never be less than a chaotic mess." Zack chuckled, ruffling the hair himself.

"Knock it off, Zack." Cloud batted the hand away. He noticed that Leon was covering a smile with one hand. "We're going to be late."

"Crud. Aerith will kill us."

"Especially since she did dinner all by herself." Cloud watched Leon.

The man shrugged a bit. "She said she had it handled."

Cloud took up the rear as the three exited the house. He watched the two in front of him, noting how they walked side by side, a bit stiffly. Every once in a while however their steps brought them closer. Twice, their knuckles brushed against the other but neither seemed to care.

The blonde pursed his lips. He knew Zack's body language and right now it was screaming its attraction to the slightly shorter man beside it. Leon never stood that close to anyone with the exception of Sora and even then the stance was not so informal. If those two had not shacked up yet, they soon would be.

Suddenly, he found himself smiling.

Zack glanced back at him and frowned. "Why are you so happy?"

"Just thinking to myself."

"Hopefully that means you and Riku won't be fighting much longer," Leon spoke evenly. "You do realize that when you argue it does affect the rest of us."

The smiled disappeared and hands went into pockets. "Yeah. We'll get it worked out."

"Course you will." Zack agreed.

They walked up to Aerith's, Cid again sitting outside. This time, he had a light smirk on his face. He looked directly at Leon. "Better now?"

Leon gave him a blank stare as he passed.

The mechanic snorted, tossing away the stick he had been chewing on. "Yeah, he's back to his usual self."

"So that's normal, huh?" Zack folded his arms.

"Yep. Some of the kids round here call him Stone Cold." He opened the door. "Doubt even you will change that."

Cloud raised an eyebrow as Cid went in. Before Zack could follow, he snickered. "Didn't take long, did it?"

Zack turned, ready to deny. Then he realized it was not necessary. It hurt a little that Cloud seemed so non-chalant about this. "Uh, yeah. Guess you were right."

Cloud actually laughed. "I know you and Leon too damn well."

"You don't…"

The blonde shrugged. "It bothers me a little but probably not for the reasons one would think. I just don't want either of you to get hurt."

Zack shook his head. "That's what Aerith said. This is just a casual thing, okay? No one's gonna get hurt because it's just a, a physical thing. No strings attached, we can walk away whenever we want."

Cloud narrowed his eyes at his dearest friend. They might say that now but he knew Leon; Leon did not just fuck any one. And Zack, while much more flirtatious, didn't sleep with nearly as many as some might have thought. He had to feel a connection with his partners.

The door cracked open and Riku poked his head out. "Are you two eating or should I assume you have better things to do?"

"Well, it that better thing happens to be you…" Zack trailed off as Cloud shoved his shoulder painfully. "Ow! Damn it, Spiky; we'd include you."

Cloud mock glared despite the upward turn of his lip.

Riku watched Cloud for a moment before lightly nudging him with a finger. Before he could withdraw, Cloud grasped his hand and squeezed it. The younger one smiled a little and tugged him in. Zack rolled his eyes after them.

Sora ginned happily at them as they came to the table. Aerith had just finished setting things out and Cid was already into the pasta. Yuffie bounced, humming quietly to herself and kept taking not so covert glances at Leon. Leon himself took a bare moment to look up before returning his eyes to the table.

Yuffie became increasingly subdued through dinner. Cid was the exact same as he usually was. Sora occasionally flicked his eyes at Leon but seemed to be in a good mood as he talked animatedly to Zack. Riku and Cloud made a few comments but it was clear they were preoccupied.

Leon offered to clean up but Aerith waved him off. She indicated that she and Zack could handle it. Zack suggested Leon go get some air and could not believe it when the man listened. Apparently, no one else could either because he was suddenly the subject of five stares.

"What did you do to Leon?" Yuffie demanded. "Did you notice he was completely ignoring me? He tells me to shut up at least once within five minutes of me entering the room. After ten, he didn't even seem to know I was there!"

"Shut up, Yuffie." Cid grunted. "Happy now?"

"No! It's not the same." She pouted. "And I know you had something to do with it. He's been different since you got here."

"Knock it off, Yuffie. It ain't got nothing to do with you."

Suddenly she gaped, still staring at Zack. "You had sex with him, didn't you? That's why he's so, so cheerful. At least, as cheerful as Squall gets which is maybe just a bit more than Cloud there."

"Squall?" Zack looked confused.

"Leon's real name," Sora explained. He glanced at Aerith. "If you don't need me, I think I'm gonna go for a walk."

She smiled understandingly and nodded. "Go do what you need to do. We'll be fine here."

He bobbed his head once and darted for the door.

She then looked at Riku and Cloud. "You two get going also."

Riku took Cloud's hand and lead him out the back. "Don't forget, Zack."

"I haven't." He called back.

"Forget what?" Cid asked in mild curiosity.

"I told Riku I'd keep Leon busy for a while. He wanted the house alone tonight." Zack smirked. "After today's tension, I don't think I even want to be next door when those two get home."

Cid snorted. He stood and gnawed on his lower lip. "You know the deal. Come on, Yuffie. I'll get you some ice cream."

The girl, who had been looking at Zack rather angrily, brightened considerably. She skipped after him and Zack and Aerith stood alone. They did not bother saying anything, only getting to work.

As they washed dishes, Zack stated, "Riku didn't say where Sora was going to be hanging out tonight; only that it was covered."

"Sora agreed to a sleep over with Scrooge's nephews. They've been asking him to show them a few tricks on those skateboards and they have a little skate park at the mansion."

"Ah. Well, hopefully the conversation with Leon goes well." Zack set the last plate in the drying rack. "Wouldn't want him to be bummed for that."

Her green eyes were bright. "They'll be fine. Leon and Sora have always had a unique relationship."

She looked like she wanted to say something else but refrained. Zack did not feel like pursuing it. Now that dinner was completely dealt with, he was not sure what he should do next. Maybe he could go explore town some more; he hadn't seen too much on his trip with Sora.

Or he could try to find Sephiroth. He really did not like that the former General kept himself isolated from everyone. If Seph had been just a little more social, Zack truly believed Jenova would not have been able to get her sadistic grasp on him.

"Hey, Aerith, have you ever tried talking to Seph about staying in town more often?"

"I have but he has his reasons and they are very good ones." She put a hand up to her chin thoughtfully. "However, I think if Cloud really gets better around him, he may start coming around more often."

That did sound like a very strong possibility.

"I think I'm gonna go visit him, if I can find him."

"He'll likely find you first."

He blew out a breath and brushed at his few black bangs. "Yeah, he does creep me out sometimes with that. Sora knows not to let Leon go home so he'll probably drag him back in here."

Aerith nodded. "I'll keep him here."

Abruptly, she put a hand to her mouth. "Oh! I have something to give you."

He watched her quizzically as she darted upstairs. She returned a few minutes later and as she struggled to bring it down the stairs, his eyes lit up. "Where the hell did you get that from?"

"Cloud had it on him when the Heartless attacked. You'll have to ask him why."

"It doesn't matter. " Zack met her halfway on the steps and took the Buster sword from her. It still felt good in his hands. "I'll have to make a new harness for it."

He decided to place it in his room for the time being, not wanting to carry it around with him. With the Heartless and Nobodies gone, the only real threat on the streets of Radiant Garden was the occasional rowdy drunk or the even rarer generally bad person. Zack could handle those types without a weapon.

His window was open and with his enhanced hearing he could hear Leon and Sora talking outside. He did not intend to eavesdrop but as he placed his weapon against the wall, he clearly heard what they were saying. Both sounded oddly relaxed.

"I was really beginning to worry about you. I didn't realize that I was making things hard for you." There was a pause, then an embarrassed laugh. "Literally."

"Don't worry about it, Sora. I never said anything and honestly, I don't think it was so much you as it was normal male hormones kicking in."

"Yeah, I can see that." Sora agreed. "And Zack's much better for you, anyway."

There was a pause. "So, you do know about that."

"Yeah. He was worried I'd be upset."

"Are you?"

"A little but only because, well…everyone seems to be finding someone but me. Even Kairi has a boyfriend now." The boy sighed. "I guess I'm more jealous than anything."

"Look, Sora. This thing with Zack," There was a long pause. Zack found himself waiting for what Leon said next. "I don't know that it's going to continue."

"Why? I think you're good for each other. He brings a smile to your face and even now, I can tell you like talking about him."

There was a sigh. "It's complicated."

"No, it isn't. You make it complicated. Just follow your heart."

"Easier said than done for some of us, Sora."

"It will work out, Leon. You'll see, you just have to let it."

Zack stood there quietly even after the conversation had clearly ended. He could not say just what he was thinking but he really did not want to leave now. So, he sat on the bed and waited.

Maybe fifteen minutes passed before there was a knock on the door. He knew it was not Aerith. "It's open."

A second's hesitation and the door creaked open. Leon stepped in slowly, not looking at Zack. He shut it behind him but did not step any closer. "Aerith sent me up to check on you. She said you went up to put your sword away and never came back down."

"Yeah." Zack rubbed at the back of his head. "Got distracted. I do that pretty easily."

Leon nodded once.

They waited awkwardly for a minute. Eventually, Zack looked up and when their eyes met, that was that. Zack stood and in two long strides crossed the room. He had Leon pressed against the door almost immediately, his hands pushing up the man's shirt.

Leon easily fell into the submissive role this time, letting his shirt be pulled off. He relaxed under Zack's mouth running along his neck and shoulders and tugged insistently at the other's own shirt. He felt an intense need to feel the chest beneath it.

Zack pulled away long enough to comply. Then re-latching himself to the younger man's earlobe, he led him by the belt over to the bed. A few moments work and the rest of their damn clothing were gone. Leon was shoved roughly down on his back with Zack climbing immediately over him.

Hands explored; lips and tongues left trails of fire everywhere they touched. While the actions were rough and desperate, there was no actual sense of urgency driving them. Both knew exactly what was happening and both wanted it.

Trying to be gentle, knowing this was Leon's first time in this position Zack went slower than usual. As he put the younger man's length in his mouth, his mind ran through a list of things he could use as lubrication. There was no way he was just going to take Leon without some form of it.

Leon suddenly snarled at him, reaching down to grip what he wanted, earning a heady groan from Zack. "Just fucking do it already."

Zack raised an eyebrow, then batted the hand away and did as ordered. He shifted Leon into a position that would be less painful and with only a murmured warning, thrust himself inside the other's body. Leon bit back a soft scream but motioned the raven haired man to continue. He did not want this to be gentle. He wanted to be lost, completely submerged in sensation.

And Zack made sure that he was, losing himself in the process.


	7. Chapter 7

I know this one runs short but it's where I need it to cut off.

Rewritten Sept 14.

* * *

Zack opened his eyes, blinking only once against the sunlight. He turned his head to the left and studied the man beside him. He was still in deep sleep, barely snoring, with a tiny bit of drool in the corner of his mouth. He lay curled a bit on his side, one arm draped across his bare stomach and the sheet just barely covered his hips.

The man was gorgeous but Zack had been around good looking, not to mention sexy as all hell, men and women before. Despite the current evidence to the contrary, Zack really did not sleep around. Sure, he'd had his share of lovers but there were usually a few dates or at least conversations before jumping into bed. The only other he had done something this impulsive with was Cloud.

That thought brought a slight frown to his face. There were many similarities between Leon and Cloud and yet he clearly saw how different they were. Those common threads of personality couldn't be why he felt so taken by the quiet man, could they?

He did not think so, but he knew first hand the complexities of the mind, and how easily things became twisted and confused. Biting his lip he sat up, the cool sheet pooling around his waist. As open and friendly as he was, he had his faults and fair share of issues. The Mako meddled with his head just as much as it did any of the others infused with it.

He thanked Shiva everyday that the Jenova cells had not affected him.

Leon shifted, the sheet dipping a bit lower. His head moved a tiny bit and grey eyes slowly cracked open. They flicked toward Zack, leading into a long moment of unspoken communication. It was clear Leon was questioning all this as well.

"Morning," Zack said quietly.

Leon grunted, trying to sit up. He gave up after the second attempt. "I suddenly have a new respect for women."

Zack chuckled. "They're better designed for it. We aren't."

"Kinda wrecks the gay sex is perfectly normal theory, doesn't it?"

"It hurts the first time for everyone, male _or_ female."

"True," Leon conceded.

"You want anything?" Zack offered.

"Coffee would be nice."

He nodded, black hair falling in his face. He swung his legs from under the blankets, looking for something to throw on.

"I think your pants are over there." Leon pointed by the desk.

Zack smirked at him, standing to reveal his full nakedness. He knew Leon was watching him as he walked over and retrieved the clothing. He deliberately took his time pulling them on. "You take anything with your coffee?"

"What?" Leon blinked. He actually blushed and Zack found it quite… attractive. "Uh, no, Black is good."

"Got it." The ex-SOLDIER grinned. "Be back in a minute."

The moment Zack slipped out the door, Leon sighed and ran a hand through his layered hair. He did not know why he came up here last night, why he felt driven to find Zack after talking with Sora. This whole situation… it was just strange.

Maybe he was simply trying to get this all out of his system. Let out all his sexual desires while he could. This casual thing with Zack could not last forever, after all. Within a few weeks, a month at most, it would die out and he'd be back to his normal, stoic self.

Why did he cringe at that thought?

He really should be trying to get up, or at least put some pants on. It just did not seem worth the effort right now. Gods, he was feeling lazy this morning.

Zack returned with two cups of coffee in one hand and a plate in the other. He kicked the door shut behind him and grinned. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to open a door with your elbows?"

"As a matter of fact I do." Leon turned on his side, scooting up to brace his back on the pillows. It at least got him upright, sort of. "It's easier with your feet."

"Oh, didn't think of that." Zack handed him a mug before tossing the plate down beside him and then lying down himself. "I got us food, too. Aerith said to take as long you want."

Leon shook his head in irritation. "I can't keep doing this."

Zack frowned. There were multiple things _that _could mean.

"I really need to get focused again."

"So do it." Zack shrugged.

Leon stared at him a moment. There was something deep and unreadable in his expression. "Yeah, I will."

He suddenly smirked weakly. "But after breakfast."

Zack blew out a breath. "Of course."

Neither moved for a minute; just looking at the other. Eventually, Leon glanced down. "So what did you bring?"

"Aerith made us wraps. She figured they'd be easier to deal with. Everyone else had eggs and bacon and all that." Zack chuckled, picking one off the plate. He bit into it and grinned, sighing with exaggerated bliss. "Oh, she even remembered the hot sauce. I love that woman."

Leon took his, much more subdued. "You like hot sauce also, huh?"

"Adore it would be more accurate. Cloud can't stand the stuff. Whenever he annoyed me, I'd sneak it into his food." Zack laughed. "It wasn't until Seph threatened me with bodily harm that I stopped."

"Why would Sephiroth do that?"

"He got tired of hearing Cloud whining about it. Somehow, Cloud always ended up finding him when I'd do that." Zack chewed thoughtfully. "Actually, looking back those two always were oddly drawn to one another. Always somehow crossing paths."

They drifted into silence, finishing their wraps and coffee. There was something calming about this interaction, something familiar. The unease was still there but it was not the foremost thing on either of their minds. For the time being, they were simply content.

"Well, think you can get up now?" Zack twisted off the bed with the empty plate.

Leon wanted to make some kind of biting remark, he really did. Instead, he grunted and forced his legs over the edge of the bed. Well, that had not been too bad. Silently preparing himself, he got to his feet ignoring the slight burning he felt. He did not hurt as much as he thought he would.

He took a few steps and suddenly found his pants held before him.

Zack smirked. "I wasn't going to make you try to bend over."

The corner of the ex-SeeD's lip twitched, the only sign of his appreciation. "I'm going home to take a shower. If you see anyone tell them I'll be out later."

"Just take one here." Zack pushed him toward the door. He opened it, and shoved him through, turning him toward the bathroom. "You do not want to walk that far like this, trust me. Ask Cloud about it sometime."

"I don't think I want to know."

Zack snickered. "You don't but I'd love to see the look on his face if you did ask."

Leon was in the bathroom doorway before he knew it. He turned to find shining violet eyes staring at him. He expected the man to offer to shower with him but there was none. Zack merely waved a little and walked away.

The brunette stood there a moment, feeling oddly disappointed. He shook himself of it and shut the door. This really had to stop. He did not want a relationship. Relationships hurt and he never wanted to experience that again. The pain simply was not worth it.

--0—0--

Zack went downstairs, a slight frown on his face. Maybe this was a mistake. Leon was clearly conflicted and he really hated being the cause of that. He wanted to see Leon happy.

He sighed. Yeah, he was beyond the casual fuck stage. How the hell had that happened? This was just like what happened with Cloud. The blond kid had caught his attention with his quiet, reserved nature. The boy had obviously been mistreated making him withdrawn and aloof of other's. Zack had made it his mission to make him laugh, at least smile.

He still was not quite sure how they had become lovers. They had been joking as usual, Zack teasing him about his small stature and Cloud pouting angrily. He had shoved Zack's shoulder and for whatever reason, Zack had taken that hand. Next thing either of them knew, they were rolling on the floor and frantically tugging clothes off.

But this was not like that, was it? Yes, the basic intention was the same but this felt so different. Leon was not Cloud despite the similarities.

Ugh, all this thinking was hurting his head.

"Where's Leon?" Aerith asked, looking up from her tea.

"Decided he needed a shower." The raven haired man smirked.

"Ah." She nodded. She set her cup down as Zack walked into the kitchen, putting the used mugs and plate in the sink. When he returned, she gave him a curious look. "Are you all right?"

He shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets. "Just been thinking a lot, you know? A lot's happened in a really short time. I mean, I haven't even really accepted the fact that I'm alive and now I've got to really deal with all the changes that have taken place."

"Yes. A lot has happened." She agreed. "I suppose those things do need to be worked through first."

He narrowed his eyes at her. He knew exactly what she was not saying. "Aerith."

She held up both hands defensively. "I'm not getting involved."

"Good."

Heavy footsteps made him turn toward the stairs. Leon shook out dripping sable hair. A few drops clung to his face. He had the same shirt on as yesterday but had 'borrowed' a pair of Zack's pants. Damn, he looked good despite the fact that they were a good two sizes too big.

He gave Zack a nervous look. "Hope you don't mind."

"Naw," Zack waved. "They look good on you, little long in the legs..."

"Leave those on the stairs, Leon." Aerith instructed, motioning to the pair of leathers in his hand. "I'll do the wash this afternoon and you can pick them up at dinner."

Leon did not look too comfortable with the idea.

She giggled. "One, everyone already knows about you both and two, you're already wearing Zack's pants. No one will bat an eye."

Surrendering to the logic, he dropped the pants on the steps and came the rest of the way down. "Still working on wedding details?"

"Yes. Tifa and Reno are picking up some of the last items for me from Twilight Town." Aerith worried her lower lip and looked thoughtfully over her list. "I should be able to get everything done by the wedding."

"Well, if you need help, go ahead and abduct Cloud. It is his wedding." Leon informed her. He glanced once at Zack and headed out the door. "Zack more than makes up for his efforts anyway."

Zack winked at Aerith with a grin and followed.


	8. Chapter 8

Rewritten Sept 17.

* * *

"So, what's the game plan?" Zack stuck his hands in his pockets as they walked side by side down the street.

"Well, if you're up to it I could really use you staying over in Zero district. You got more done in one day than Cloud could accomplish in three."

"Oh, don't tell me Cloud was in charge over there!" Zack exclaimed, twisting his body to look at Leon from the front as they walked. "Who's the idiot who did that?"

Leon raised an eyebrow.

"Oh." Zack straightened. "Well, I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time."

The brunette gave him a dirty look. There was no venom behind it, however, and rather ineffectual. "He wasn't in charge; I just had to give him something to do. It was put him there or listen to him complain all day about how he wasn't built for manual labor at the castle."

"Yeah, Spiky always was a bit of a wimp. That's the main reason he never made it into SOLDIER. He had the endurance but lacked the will."

"Sounds like him now." Leon snorted. He was quick to get back on track. "In all seriousness, we really could use someone over there who works hard and can oversee things. They're seriously behind schedule."

"Whatever you want, hon."

Leon froze for a minute. A strange look crossed his face. "Don't call me that."

"What, 'hon'?" Zack frowned.

"Don't call me any pet names." His expression had gone stony. "It's Leon; that's it."

Zack narrowed his violet eyes. Leon's voice had gotten very terse and his body was stiff. He had obviously triggered something with the term. "Uh, yeah. Gotcha."

They began walking again, a noticeable discord between them.

"So, uh, anything I need to know for over there?" Zack asked in an effort to get something to break the silence.

Leon was completely in command mode now. His voice was even and business like. "The foreman's name is Kenshin, short guy with red hair. He has all the blueprints and details. As you've seen, it's primarily standard track housing. There are a few custom; one of which being Cloud and Riku's."

"Ah."

Leon stared ahead as they continued. The split off was coming up rapidly. There was so much he wanted to say and he quite honestly had no idea what any of it was. Everything felt like such a mess right now. As it was all they did was nod to one another at the juncture and Zack continued down the road as Leon turned off toward the castle.

--0—0--

Zack's hands remained in his pockets as he finished the trek to Zero district. Well, he thought this morning had been going reasonably well; a bit introspective but still relaxed, almost familiar. He kept coming back to that one little fact. How the heck was that possible? Why was he so damn comfortable with Leon?

Sora's voice called out to him as he passed the park. He looked over to see the teenager sitting on a metal stair rail. Huey, Dewy, and Louie were grinding their skateboards along the center rail and riding down the stone steps.

"You guys are up early." He commented, coming over to stand near the foot of the stairs.

"Unca Scrooge has some meeting this afternoon." One of the ducklings, dressed mostly in blue, replied. "They're setting up for it and making a lot of noise."

That made sense.

"You working on the houses again today?" Sora asked, a hopeful tone to his voice.

"Yeah," Zack said slowly. "Actually, Leon hinted that he's putting me in charge over there."

"Oh, good." Sora grinned. "That'll make Cloud happy and things will start moving faster which will make everyone happy. He must really like you."

Zack frowned, rubbing at the back of his head. "Well, he trusts me to do it."

"Naw." Sora hopped off the rail. There was an almost flirtatious look on his face. "He _likes_ you, I can tell. Sometimes, I think I know him better than he knows himself."

The three others snickered, bidding Sora and Zack good bye as they waved and moved off. Sora watched Zack curiously for a few minutes. Something was up with the man. Was Leon trying to push him away already?

Sora sighed and laced his fingers together behind his head.

"What's with that sigh?"

"Nothing. Well, not nothing but nothing you can do anything about. Or maybe you can." Sora gave a sudden head jerk. "I'm babbling again. Just smack me when I do that."

"Only if you promise to enjoy it. I don't smack to cause pain." Zack attempted to lighten both their moods. It did not work too well.

"Heh."

They approached the worksite's central area where several workers stood around whom Zack presumed was Kenshin. The group turned to them when they were a few feet away. The foreman grinned, the action tugging at the scar on his cheek. "I was hoping you'd be sent out here today. These guys can't stop talking about you."

"Yeah, I have that affect on people. I guess I'm replacing Cloud."

"Good." A tall man with uplifted, almost black hair chuckled. "Guy can kick probably all our combined asses but he is worthless when it comes to building."

"Yeah, that's him. By the way, there been any sign of him or Riku?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Zack snorted. "Didn't think so. Make a note that we need to make them apologize to the neighbors."

"I get the pleasure of living next door to them when we're moved over here." The guy with the broom hair casually stated. "I made sure to put extra insulation in the two outside walls between us."

"Good idea." Violet eyes shinned. "Ok. Down to business. What the hell do we have to get done?"

--0--

"Leon! We got another problem!"

Fuck! That was the last thing he wanted to hear this morning. One day, all he wanted was one day with no problems. One day where he could just- "I'm coming."

Who wanted to think anyway?

The problem was indeed a problem. The system controlling the water filtration had experienced a catastrophic shutdown. Now it would not restart. "If we could only figure out what caused the shutdown, we could figure out how to bring the system back up."

Leon looked over the control panels before glancing at Cid. The gruff man made a noise in the back of his throat. "I can't make fuckin' heads or tails of this. Everything looks fine to me."

"Which means…?"

"Call in pretty boy and his psycho brother."

--0--

Simply put, Cloud was pissed. He stalked into the house, slamming the door behind him. Sora looked at him, a bit frightened but Zack did not react. "Wanna play with the sledgehammer?"

"Can I take it to some people's heads?"

"Well, I'm not going to say yes but I ain't sayin' no either." Zack ran a length of tape down to Sora. "Riku got called up for duty?"

"And Sephiroth. The water system died."

"Great," Sora muttered. "So start conserving."

"What do you want me to do?" Cloud sighed. "I don't care what. Hell, I'll even paint."

Sora stared at him. "Just what were you and Riku doing when they called?"

"We don't want to know," Zack said flatly. He dropped the roll of binding into the boy's lap. "Think you can finish this room yourself?"

"Uh, yeah. Where are you going?"

He moved toward Cloud and draped an arm over the blonde's shoulders. "Spiky and I are going to talk about sex over coffee and a can of paint."

"I don't want to talk." Cloud protested as he was steered outside. "It'll just frustrate me more."

"Who said I wanted to talk about you?" Zack snickered. The sky was becoming dark with heavy looking clouds. "Looks like more rain."

"Yeah."

The paint was being stored in a wooden shed near the end of the street. Zack handed Cloud two cans of off-white base paint. "You and Riku figure out what colors you want for your place yet?"

"We haven't really talked too much about the house." There was a peculiar tone to his voice. "Everything still seems so far off…"

Zack glanced over. "You having second thoughts about getting married?"

"No." The younger one quickly shook his head. "It's nothing like that. We just haven't, well, things have been kinda weird lately."

"Ah." Zack took a third can and some fresh brushes and rollers. "So, I threw off everything, huh?"

"No. Well, I guess you triggered it but honestly, this is all stuff we had to work out anyway. We're both too damn good at avoiding things we don't want to talk about and then having it blow up in our faces. That doesn't work in a marriage and we both know it," Cloud explained. "Last night, we made some really good progress toward getting some of those things figured out."

"So what was this morning?" Zack shut the shed behind them.

Cloud gave him a twisted smile. "Celebrating our accomplishment."

The First Class laughed loudly, nearly stumbling on the curb. "Ah, so that's it! I shoulda guessed. You always get pissy when you're interrupted. Remember that time Seph-"

"Yes." Cloud cut him off roughly. However there was a slight grin on his face. "Don't remind me. I don't think I've ever been as embarrassed in my life as I was that afternoon."

Zack shrugged. "We had fun."

"Yes, we did."

"So, should we work on your house?" Zack asked, smug expression lighting his eyes.

"You just want us out of Leon's house."

Zack's steps faltered a bit.

Cloud glanced over. "Oh, that's not good. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. That is, nothing you can do anything about." Didn't Sora say the exact same thing earlier?

Cloud pursed his lips. "I was wondering when this was going to happen."

"When what was going to happen?"

"Leon's withdrawing, isn't he?" The blonde stated more than questioned.

"You can't withdraw if there wasn't anything there in the first place." Zack turned up the walk to the small one story house that was to become Cloud and Riku's. He did not want to get into this with Cloud. He just knew his former lover would make him to admit to things he would sooner not admit to.

He entered the front door, immediately moving to the right. Setting the supplies down, he looked over the front room. "Well, this will be cozy."

"Zack," Cloud spoke lowly, setting the paint down near the wall. He turned to face his first best friend. "Tell me the truth. This thing with Leon is more than just a fling."

Zack stared into those intense blue eyes. Damn him. Damn him to hell. "I don't know what it is, okay?"

He sat in the center of the floor and studied his hands in his lap. "All I know is he doesn't want anything more than a fuck buddy. That's what we agreed to."

"What do you want?"

"Doesn't matter what I want." Oh, that was a _really_ bad answer there, Zachary.

"Yes it does!" Cloud dropped to his knees before him. "Stop being so damn giving, Zack. Just for once, can you say what you want? I swear you're worse than me."

"That's a stretch." Zack snorted.

Cloud glared at him. "Zack."

"All right! Gaia, how the hell did we end up switching places? I'm the one who's supposed to be pushing you around."

"I got promoted to seme, remember?" Cloud smirked at him. "Now, just what do you want to come from this thing with Leon? And yes, I know how wrong that sounded."

He sighed and leaned back on his hands. "I don't know, Cloud. It's not that I _want_ something more. I just feel this pulling. I have this need to know everything about him and yet I feel as if I already know everything that matters.

"It's similar to how I felt about you but somehow so totally different." He tilted his head back, black hair falling away from his face. "I just, like being around the guy and I want him to be happy."

Cloud had the tiniest of smiles. "Sounds like a pretty heavy crush to me."

"It does, doesn't it?" Zack chuckled. He quickly mellowed out. "Well, it doesn't matter. He's so caught up in his own shit a relationship isn't even worth considering."

"Leon talks less about his past than Cloud." Sora's voice suddenly came from the doorway. His eyes were large and bright, a slight frown tugging his face. "The only reason we know as much about Cloud as we do is that most of the group was there with him almost from the start."

"He is in the room, Sora."

The boy ignored him. "Leon changed his name to escape it but all it did was create a new prison. He is and always will be Squall Leonhart, who cares so much about the people around him it terrifies him. The only thing that scares him more now is failing those he cares for. So he distances himself by putting up that cold, hard exterior.

"But underneath that, he's in so much pain I fear one day it's going to kill him. That's why he's so dedicated to restoring Radiant Garden. He believes that by saving this world, making it better for everyone here, it will take some of the pain away."

Sora bit his lip. "I somehow managed to get under the armor and I've done what I can but he needs more… more than I can give him."

He gave Zack an intense look. "You've gotten further beneath the shields than anyone. If anyone's going to help Leon, it's you but it's not going to be at all easy."

Blue eyes bore into violet, conveying the conviction Sora held to this belief. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the absolute truth. Somehow, Zack found himself believing it right along with him.

"Damn, kid," he muttered, more than a little awed. "I knew you were smart but damn."

Cloud was staring at him also. "Where was all this wisdom when Riku and I were having our last big crisis?"

"Ah, well." Sora was suddenly very uncomfortable.

"Oh, spit it out, Sora." Zack rolled his eyes. "You were jealous of Cloud so you didn't want to get involved in the hopes that they'd break up and you could have Riku all to yourself again.'

Cloud raised an eyebrow at Sora who was now looking away from the blonde man. The brunette picked at the wall. "That's not it exactly…"

Cloud wanted to ask more but realized it did not really matter. He knew where he and Sora stood in the big picture. They both had equal places in Riku's heart and a genuine affection for each other. He instead glanced at Zack.

"So knowing all this, what do you want?"

The man shrugged from his place on the floor. "I don't know. I can't force him into something he's unwilling to do."

"Don't give up on him yet, Zack." Sora advised, a large grin on his face. "I think in the end, all of us are going to be surprised."

Both men looked at him quizzically. What did that mean?

Sora nudged Cloud's shoulder. "Now, are we painting your house or not?"


	9. Chapter 9

Again, I don't own the characters. I love doing casual banter with these guys.

* * *

Cloud did not complain once as the three of them primered the house. In fact, he seemed to actually be having fun with it. They chatted about everything from the things that annoyed them about various other members of the Restoration, particularly Yuffie, to stories from their childhoods. While Cloud did not have much to add to the latter, he was more than willing to participate in the whine fest.

"You know what I really can't stand?" Cloud tore the end of the molding tape he was placing around the wood frame of the office. He gave Sora a very pointed look. "Gum smacking."

"I don't smack my gum!" Sora protested stopping mid-stroke.

"Oh, yes you do."

"You do." Zack backed up Cloud. "I noticed yesterday."

"Yeah, well." Sora searched for a retort. An evil, totally out of place smile lit his face. "You scream like a girl during sex."

Zack dropped his brush. He would have fallen if he had not braced his hand on the wall. "Oh, he got you on that one, Spike."

Cloud was blushing furiously. "I don't-"

"Oh, you do." Zack smirked. "Don't even try to deny it. I used to be the one who made you scream like that."

Sora, while a bit pink in the cheeks, looked rather pleased with himself.

"That was brilliant, Sora." Zack was still laughing, even as he removed his hand from the wall. "Oh damn. That was still wet."

The teenager giggled as Zack searched for a moment then finally squatted down and rubbed his hand on the tarp on the floor. The raven-haired man grumbled to himself good naturedly. When he stood back up, he was hit by a splattering of white paint flicked off of a brush.

His shoulders drooped and he hung his head with a sigh. "Oh, Spiky. You did not just do that."

"Do what?" Cloud was innocently painting the wall, the barest of smiles on his face.

"You know I'm gonna have to retaliate."

"Well, wait until after I leave." Aerith's voice spoke calmly from the door frame. She had a small smile of amusement as she came in with a flat box containing lunch. "Is Zack picking on you again?"

"Hey!" Zack protested. "Sora started it!"

"And you continued it." She lightly chastised. "What have I told you boys about playing nice?"

"Yes, Mother." Zack smirked, grabbing some food from the box still in Aerith's hands. "You know you spoil us."

She shrugged. "If I don't do this, half the committee wouldn't eat. Oh, and speaking of that, Sora, could you possibly bring the rest of this over to the water works before Zack eats everything?"

"Who me?" Zack looked up with large innocent eyes. Cloud whapped the back of his head before taking his sandwich.

"Uh, sure." Sora put away his brush, giving Aerith an odd look. He knew he was being sent away but no clue as to why. He already knew everything they could possibly want to talk about.

Sora took the box and slowly walked out, tempted to hang out by the outside of the window and eavesdrop for a few minutes. He did not, however, deciding that if it was something he needed to know, one of the three would eventually tell him.

He crossed town, feeling rather hesitant. He had no idea what he was about to walk into and if Cloud acted grumpy when he was sexually frustrated, Riku was much worse. His best friend was such a hedonist.

The loud echo of banging reached his ears long before he turned down the road to the works. As he got closer, shouting could be heard. One of the voices was easily identifiable as Cid's. He did not recognize the other two.

He entered the works, taking in the scene before him. Both Cid and Riku were up in the pipes, sprawled out over them in order to reach the one's further back. Several workers were in another section, reassembling intricate copper tubing. Sephiroth flew in place near them, calmly giving instructions.

Leon was nowhere to be seen.

Sora watched them all working diligently, feeling somewhat remorseful. A lot of times he felt he really was not helping any around here. He wasn't very good with tools and he definitely was not one of the most brilliant minds around. It sometimes felt that Sephiroth did more good around here than he did.

"Aerith sent you with lunch today?" Leon's voice startled him.

"Uh, yeah."

"Humph. I told her to stay out of it," The man muttered, moving past Sora to stand closer to the work area. He turned his head up to Riku and Cid. "Hey, lunch."

"In a minute." Riku shouted back before cursing loudly and banging his fist against a nearby support. "This fucking connector won't…"

"Hold on!" Cid yelled. There were several clangs and more than a few grunts before the shriek of metal scrapping metal sounded. Both Riku and Cid seemed to collapse in exhaustion.

"Only four fucking more." Cid chuckled dryly.

"Why are we the one's doing this again?"

"No idea." Cid began making his way down followed closely by Riku. Once they touched the floor, the middle aged man gave Leon a sour look. "I say we make the boss man get his hands dirty on the next one."

"Not to mention scorched." Riku was carefully holding his fingers out which Sora immediately noticed were an ugly shade of pink.

"Ugh, Riku." The brunette set the box down and took his best friend's hands. He muttered _curgra_ and the light burn faded away.

"You really must learn to heal yourself, Riku," Sephiroth stated disappointedly, landing behind his brother. "Healing others does no good if you're in bad condition."

"Yeah, it's on the list of things I've gotta do," Riku muttered, flexing the digits experimentally. "Though it's rapidly moving up that list."

"Break?" Sephiroth inquired of Leon who nodded once. The silver-haired man turned precisely and motioned to the men who he had been working with. They began climbing down and filing out, a few even saluting him as they left.

Sora was rather surprised how respectfully they treated him. "Wow. They seem to like you."

"A majority of them are former military," Sephiroth explained in a bored tone, taking the food Riku handed him. "They understand the chain of command."

Riku snickered. "You should have seen him go General on them. I almost applauded."

"I was at one time highly respected."

"Before you went psycho," Cid mumbled, glancing next to him the moment he realized he had spoken out loud.

Sephiroth merely took a small bite of his sandwich.

"Damnit, she did it again." Riku was taking apart his. "I keep telling her I can't stand anything but lettuce and she keeps putting it on anyway!"

"So pick it off." Sora frowned.

"I do. It's just the tomato gets into the bread and… ugh."

"Then make your own." Sephiroth's tone was conversational. "The Cetra does this for you out of the over abundant kindness of her heart."

Riku sighed heavily. "I know. I'm just really crabby today."

Sora snorted. "You aren't the only one."

"So ah did interrupt you and Spiky." Cid laughed. "I knew it. So ya finally got things settled?"

"Something like that," Riku mumbled, flicking his eyes toward his brother who was apparently ignoring them. Of course, Riku knew better.

The group fell quiet for a few minutes, each simply eating. While the feeling was not tense in the slightest, Sora always had issues with silence. He searched for something to say but could not come up with anything he felt would actually lead to a conversation.

So he went with the generic. "So what's after this is fixed, Fearless Leader?"

"Don't call me that."

Sora frowned at Leon's tone. "You never say anything when Zack says it."

"I don't like when he does it either."

"But you let him do it."

Riku smirked. "Only cause they're shacking up."

Sephiroth quirked an elegant eyebrow at that. "Well that was fast even for Zackary."

Leon kept his eyes on his sandwich. "It's not an ongoing thing. Quit making it sound like more."

"That isn't how Zack makes it sound." Sora countered. "He really seems to like you."

"It's just sex, nothing more." It sounded to everyone present like Leon was trying to convince himself of this more than anything. "And I don't want to discuss it."

Cid was feigning total disinterest by stepping to the side to light a cigarette. Sora and Riku were frowning heavily at the sable-haired man. Sephiroth had narrowed his catlike eyes in a calculating manner and he regarded Leon for a long moment.

"Contrary to what you may believe, Zack never simply engages in casual sex. If he has allowed you into his bed it is because he feels a connection to you. Zack, while appearing and acting friendly with near everyone he meets, is very guarded himself and is also selective with who he allows close. He's very big on the _feeling_ he gets from people.

"I have also spent enough time with you, Leonheart to know that you do not just let anyone get close to you. Zack has somehow managed to sneak in under the armor you so carefully built around you and has effectively rendered it useless." An almost fond little smile appeared on the winged man's face. "You are not the first he has accomplished this with."

Sephiroth stopped and waited. After a moment, Leon cast his gaze on the older man and gave a single nod.

This was apparently enough for Sephiroth, who turned and moved toward the side opening. "I believe I shall recall my troops and get back to work."

Riku watched after him for a second before looking at Sora. They both faced Leon who remained quiet but a troubled expression tugged at his scarred face. He was obviously mulling over Sephiroth's words carefully.

Riku gave Sora a look and the pair moved off. Sora spoke with awe in his voice. "I didn't think I'd ever hear Seph talk like that."

"Zack is his best friend." Riku commented. "I think Seph still considers him his only friend. And though he won't admit it, Seph really does care about what happens to all of us. He has a great deal of respect for Leon."

"Well, maybe what he said will stick." Sora bit his lip, glancing over his shoulder at the still motionless form of one of his most important people. "Cause I know Zack's in love with him and Leon, well, he's always been the first to deny his emotions."

After a few minutes, Leon left his spot and disappeared to who knew where. Sephiroth returned with his troops and they immediately set back to work. Sora stayed around for about an hour, trying to help Riku and Cid but it quickly became clear he was more in the way than anything.

He decided to head back to the housing, at least there he was somewhat useful. He walked out the back and found Leon sitting on one of the large boulders. Biting his lip, he went up to stand beside him for a moment. He wanted to say something but was uncertain as to what.

The sky had grown even darker but the sun was trying to break through the cloud cover. The air had the feel of rain and a light wind had kicked up. The temperature had dropped a few degrees.

"How do you do it, Sora?"

The boy was startled. "Do what?"

"Keep following your heart. You've been betrayed so many times and yet you're still so trusting. Look at everything Riku did to you and you're closer than ever. Hell, Sephiroth tried to kill you twice and you have no issue with him whatsoever."

"Well." Sora rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know. I guess I figure everyone makes mistakes, right? We all do stuff at one point that we know will hurt another and we know that someone will eventually hurt us. I figure, you can spend your whole life living in fear of that or throw caution in the wind and just live knowing that someday you will get hurt."

He shrugged. "There's too much joy out there to be afraid of a little or even a major heartache. Yeah, Riku hurt me. He hurt me worse than any of you will ever know but I wouldn't give up my friendship with him for anything."

Leon did not reply and once a span of time passed, Sora left.

When he got back to Zero district, Aerith was gone and Zack and Cloud had somehow managed to finish primering the entire house. Equally impressive was that neither one was doused in paint. They were lounging in the kitchen area, Zack up on the counter and Cloud sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Zack grinned at him around his water. "So, how are things over there? We gonna be able to shower tonight?"

"I have no idea." Sora plopped down beside Cloud. "They're working their butts off though. It seems Seph has a plan."

"Then it's only a matter of if they can execute it." Cloud added softly.

"Yeah. He's got all the guys working with him while Riku and Cid are replacing pieces of the intake. That part seems to be working fine."

"Hmm."

The teen looked between the former lovers. "So what did I miss?"

"Ah, nothing important." Zack waved a dismissive hand. "You really didn't have to leave."

"That's okay. We had an interesting conversation over lunch." Sora commented. "We gonna do anymore painting in here or does it still have to dry?"

"The lovebirds have to figure out what colors they want." Zack smirked as Cloud rolled his eyes.

"All right! We'll do it tonight."

"Well, we already knew that. Try to pick out some paint before or hell after." He just managed to duck the wadded up rag thrown at him. "Let's go get started on Broom-hair's place."

The two got up off the floor and the three collected the painting supplies and headed out, crossing the newly sodded yard. "This looks good."

Cloud nodded with a little smile on his face.

Zack chuckled and poked his shoulder. "You are getting so excited about this."

Cloud did not bother to answer but even Sora noticed the pleased look in the blonde's eyes.

"Too bad the weather's gone to shit again." Zack looked up. "Does it usually rain so much around here?"

"Its late fall." Sora answered, opening the door of the new house. "On the Islands, it only rained this much during hurricane season. They actually get snow here! I can't wait for winter. It's gonna be so cool!"

"More like freezing," Cloud muttered moving in past Sora.

Zack gave Cloud a confused look. "You use to love snow."

"That was before the Northern Crater." Cloud replied easily.

"Oh."

Sora had no idea what they were talking about and figured he probably did not need to. They set to work but about three-quarters of the way into it, it was clear they were going to run out of primer before the room was finished. Sora offered to get another can but Zack frowned in thought.

"I'm pretty sure this is all there was in the shed." Violet eyes lit up. "Oh! Didn't we leave like half a can in that first house the other day?"

"Uh, yeah. I think so." The teen agreed. "I'll go look."

He darted out the door and jogged down the street to the cul de sac. A few drops of rain fell onto his spiked hair and shoulders and he only hoped it held off until he got back. Not that he did not love the rain; he was a firm believer that jumping in puddles made everyone feel better, but working in wet clothes was not nearly as fun.

Most of the other workers on the street were starting to pack up for the day. Kenshin waved as he passed the boy, asking him to tell the ones doing the landscaping to call it a day. The boy shouted an okay back and soon slowed as he approached the right house.

Two girls about his age were planting flowers up along the front porch.

"You all realize it's about to rain," Sora stated casually.

The short-haired brunette turned, followed by her blonde counterpart whose large curls swung smoothly with the movement. The first laughed. "Yeah, we're almost done."

The blonde smiled at Sora shyly and went back to scooping dirt over the newly placed plants. Sora watched her a moment before the brunette flung a clump of dirt at him. She wiggled her eyebrows at him and kept indicating the blonde. She mouthed _talk to her_.

Sora sighed and shook his head. Sakura was convinced that Sora had a secret crush on the blonde. Sure, Pacifica was really nice and he liked talking to her from the day he met her a few weeks ago. There had been a few times when even Leon had caught him watching her but he did not _like_ her.

The only girl he had ever liked was Kairi and that clearly did not work out. Of course, both of the guys he had liked hadn't worked out either. Maybe he just wasn't cut out for this whole love thing.

As he passed them, Pacifica glanced up at him with a small smile. "Hi, Sora."

"Hey." He paused for a moment then ducked into the house.

He found the paint can quickly and headed back out. Pacifica was putting away the hand tools and Sakura stood on the walkway, surveying their work. She flicked her eyes at Sora. "So, I hear Leon's been snatched up."

"Something like that."

"So that makes you free and clear again."

Sora narrowed his eyes. "You're not setting us up."

"Oh come on!" Sakura nearly shouted. "You seem to like her and she clearly has it bad for you. I know you're not totally into guys. Why not?"

"Because." He brushed past her. He marched determinedly off, ignoring her shouting. He liked the girl but she needed to stay out of his life.

He returned to the house just as the rain began picking up. He set the can down and opened it silently before reclaiming his brush and getting to work. Both Zack and Cloud gave him looks but he focused on the wall.

Zack stopped and folded his arms. "All right, spill it."

"What?"

"Don't what me. Something happened while you were gone and now you're all…"

"Pissy." Cloud supplied.

"Yes, thank you. So what is it?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now," Sora muttered. "If I promise to tell you later, will you drop it for now?"

Cloud frowned. "You don't let me or Riku get away with that."

"Because you won't!" Sora nearly spat out. "You both just find places to hide."

Zack studied Sora closely then flicked his eyes toward Cloud. This was a side of Sora he had yet to see. Judging by the blonde's reaction, he was not use to it either. He returned his attention to the wall. "Yeah, sure. We can talk about it later. Just know that I will make you talk about it."

"Fine." Sora sighed but did not speak further. Cloud watched him a moment longer before he, too, went back to the wall.


	10. Chapter 10

Rewritten Sept. 28. I adore the image of Sephiroth grilling in the backyard. The boys are just having a grand old time in this chapter.

Again, I don't own any of the characters used here.

* * *

Another hour passed as they used up the rest of the primer. It was pouring rain now, and the last thing any of them wanted to do was walk home in it. Hoping it would ease up soon, Sora, Zack, and Cloud sat around the front room near the picture window. The room still smelled of wet paint, now mixed with wet grass.

"This bites." Zack threw his head back.

"I'm starving," Sora complained. "We are totally gonna miss dinner."

Cloud watched the rain run down the glass. "I'm sure we're not the only ones."

Zack rolled his eyes. "You both have something called a phone, use it. Jeez, do I have to do all the thinking around here?"

Both spiky-haired guys exchanged a look before each shoved a shoulder of their raven-haired friend. He fell back with a 'hey' and the two took out their phones. They seemed very pleased with themselves.

Cloud frowned in annoyance, holding his phone before him. "It won't go through."

"Hold on…" Sora stood and paced a few steps, studying his phone's display. "Here we go."

He dialed out and after a minute, he grinned. "Hey, how's the weather over there? Yeah, I know. Uh huh. We're still at the house. Dunno. Oh, yeah? That sucks. Okay. A half-hour? We'll be waiting. See ya."

He hung up. "Riku and Seph are gonna pick us up."

"You could have let me talk to him," grumbled Cloud.

"Oh, get over it." Sora sat back down by the window.

Zack quirked an eyebrow. Sora was practically glaring out the glass. He caught Cloud's eye and saw the other was watching the teen with concern. Well it sounded like they would be here a while yet so… "All right, Sora. It's later. What's the freaking deal?"

The boy sighed. "It's nothing. Sakura's just being a pain."

"Sakura?" asked Cloud thoughtfully. "The girl who's been getting lessons from Tifa?"

"Yeah. She keeps trying to set me up with Pacifica."

"The blonde with the rack that rivals Tifa's?"

"Yeah."

Zack's eyes lit up. "Oh, that sounds like a hot deal. What's the problem?"

Sora shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I like Pacifica but I don't like Sakura butting into my personal life. If I want to go out with someone, I'll freakin' ask them!"

There was a note of anger in his voice.

Zack leaned back, bracing himself on his hands. "So would you go out with her if it weren't for Sakura?"

"Maybe. I guess… She is really nice and rather pretty." Sora bit his lip in thought. "We've only talked a few times but those went alright."

"So give it a shot. It can't hurt, and you might have fun." Zack frowned, "Unless you're only into guys. If that's the case than don't even try, you'll just make a mess."

"No," Sora said quickly. "No, I'm not just into guys. Girls are great, too."

Cloud was quietly listening to the pair, watching Sora. He smiled a bit as he noted Sora's expressions. The boy was not in the least bit embarrassed with discussing this with Zack. He wasn't even this comfortable talking to Riku about sex and relationships.

Leave it to Zack.

"Sooo…" Zack drawled out, a mischievous glint to his eyes. "You gonna go for it?"

Sora pursed his lips then shrugged, "Yeah, sure. What the heck? What's the worst that can happen?"

"She ends up pregnant and you're stuck for life with her obnoxious mother who will never see you as anything but a bum."

Sora gaped and a blush finally began creeping over his cheeks. "That is _not_ going to happen, Zack."

"You said, what was the _worst_."

"Those were your words," agreed Cloud.

Sora looked between them. Zack had been totally right. He was seeing a side of Cloud he never saw. It was pretty damn fun, too.

Cloud tipped his head to the side, and then got to his feet.

"I guess they're here," quipped Zack.

"He does have a sixth sense when it comes to Riku."

The door opened and after a moment, the brothers stepped into the room. Both were a bit damp, but nothing as they should be considering the way the rain was coming down. Riku shook out his hair, grinning. "Gorgeous day, is it not?"

"Beautiful." Zack leapt up. "I was just thinking we should barbeque."

"We could." Sephiroth stated blandly. He actually looked tired. "A nice prime rib with grilled vegetables would be nice."

"Oooh, yeah," Riku agreed, nearly drooling. He stepped up to Cloud and wrapped his arms around his waist. He immediately began nibbling on the blonde's ear.

"I'm not a steak." Cloud commented all the while titling his head so his neck was easily accessible.

Sephiroth blew out a very faint sigh and moved away from the pair. He joined up with Zack and Sora, both of whom were also trying to ignore them. "The water is temporarily repaired. More will have to be done."

"Well, that's something." Zack folded his arms. "Everyone go home?"

"Nearly. Leonhart stayed behind." The older man glanced over. "He needs to rest."

Zack twisted his mouth. That was Sephiroth's way of telling him to check on the man. Why did Seph continue to pretend to be the cold hard-ass he clearly was not? The guy cared a lot more than he was likely able to express. He kept forgetting how devoid of affection Sephiroth's early life was.

"How come you guys aren't all wet?" asked Sora, looking over the tall winged man.

Sephiroth muttered something under his breath. A light smirk crossed his face. "Umbrella spells are a nice thing. You're now under one yourself."

Sora actually looked up but quickly realized how stupid this was and returned his attention to the two men before him. "So can we really grill in this rain?"

"We can."

"Sweet, come on." The boy got to his feet.

Zack laughed, flicking his eyes at the other two in the room. "I think we should leave them."

"Unfortunately, we'll need Riku tomorrow." Sephiroth turned for the door. "Go find Leonheart and drag him home, Zachary. I will have food waiting."

He stepped forward and waved his hand a touch. Riku suddenly winced and pulled away from Cloud with a glare. "What?"

"You may continue your activities when I don't have to see them." The elder had reached the door. "I thought you wanted steak."

Riku looked torn but the steak won out. He gripped Cloud's hand and followed after his brother. "I can have you whenever, but Seph's prime rib? Oh gods, there is no way I can pass that up."

Zack snickered. "He does make a damn good steak."

Sora headed for the door. "In that case, don't take too long with Leon. I'm starving."

The boy ducked out and after a moment, Zack followed going in the opposite direction.

He made it a point to not think as he walked, keeping his mind clear. This seemed to help the slight tremble in his chest. He watched the buildings he passed, the rain running down roofs to steadily hit the stone road.

He took a few long strides up the long incline leading into the works and once inside, he shook his hair of the small amount of moisture that had managed its way through the spell. The place looked deserted; maybe Leon had decided to go home on his own.

He knew that thought was unlikely even as he thought it. If they had not finished here, Leon would stay until he felt something had been done no matter how trivial of a thing it was.

The ex-SOLDIER walked toward the back, assuming the other would be there. Where that assumption came from, he did not have a clue. It just felt like the logical thing. Not that Zack was normally a logical person. However, Leon definitely was and Zack had no doubts this is where he would find the man.

He rounded the outer edge of the complex system of pipes, the faint rushing of water running through them echoing in the large chamber. An enormous filtering reservoir fed the system. More pipes drew in water from the falls and river outside.

Leon was leaning his weight on his hands, gripping the rail of the platform before it and watching the churning water intently. It seemed unlikely there was a professional reason for it.

Zack gazed up, drawn to the man's scarred face. It was lost in thought, grey eyes narrowed as they remained fixed on the termolutious water. Despite the expression, his body seemed relaxed. There was something serenely beautiful about it.

Leon suddenly straightened as he sensed the other man's presence. He turned and came down the stairs, not looking at Zack as he passed. "There's water."

"So I've heard." Zack put his hands in his pockets and fell into place beside him. "Seph says it's not finished yet."

Leon snorted and murmured, "It's never finished."

"Not until you die." Zack frowned thoughtfully. "Course that didn't stop anything for me."

The sable haired man said nothing and continued his hurried pace. He pulled a few steps ahead of Zack, clearly trying to avoid him. He just…could not deal with this right now.

Outside the rain had died to a drizzle. He did not pause upon entering it and simply kept moving. It was not until a hand gripped his arm that he slowed down and literally snarled.

Zack released him immediately. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

Something within Leon snapped. "What's wrong with me is you. Since you got here, everything-" He cut himself off, whirling around and resuming his pace.

Zack stood in shock for a second before racing up to Leon. He retook his arm and tugged roughly. "Everything what?"

The younger man shoved him off. He then took hold of Zack's shirt with both fists and pulled him close. Water ran down his face and Zack was almost certain that not all of it was rain. Leon was muttering to himself as he stared down at Zack's chest.

"I don't want this. I cannot… not again… I can't do this. I can't."

Zack simply stood there, letting Leon vent whatever this was that he obviously needed to get out. He had a fairly good idea what this was about. His chest tightened and he wanted to assure the other that things were okay, that he did not have to do anything.

He could not bring himself to say it.

Leon pushed him away and turned. He raised his head up, letting the rain run down his neck and matte his shoulder-length hair. He held his arms loosely at his sides

Zack bit his lip, resisting the urge to press that damp body back against his. It was as though he was addicted.

"Leon…" He trailed off, not sure what he wanted to say, what he could say.

This seemed to snap Leon out of it. He began speaking as if the past ten minutes had not happened. "Where are the others?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. One of the two houses." Zack rubbed the back of his neck. The spell was beginning to wear off and the drizzle was soaking into his black hair. "Probably shoulda asked that."

Leon took out his phone from an inside jacket pocket. He waited for whomever he dialed to pick up. "Where are you guys? Is he? We'll be there shortly."

The phone was returned to the pocket. It was silent for a moment, the wind picking up a touch to tug at both men's hair. The air was thick with unspoken words and denied emotion.

Leon angled his head down and to the side. "Steak sounds really good right now."

"Damn right it does." Zack's voice cracked once at the beginning but ended even. "Seph makes a good steak."

The younger one nodded. By unspoken agreement, they began walking again. They fell in side by side but not another word was spoken. Not even when they reached the house that Leon and Cloud shared.

You could smell the meat cooking from down the street.

"Is he actually grilling?" Leon muttered.

Zack laughed. "Yep. He can do it in almost any environment. He's got a real gift with fire."

"Unfortunately." Cloud's tightly controlled voice came from behind them. He passed them by, a bag in one hand and a case of beer in the other. "At least he's putting that talent to good use."

"Didn't I just buy beer?" Leon frowned.

"You did, and Riku's getting some hard stuff from Tifa's."

Zack grinned brightly. "Oooh, we're gonna get shitfaced!"

Leon did not look happy hearing this. "We have to be up early tomorrow."

"Oh, relax." Zack waved a hand and climbed the steps. "I'm kidding. It's gonna take a hell of a lot more than that to get the four of us even tipsy."

A muscle in Leon's cheek twitched but he went ahead into the house. Cloud watched him a moment before turning to Zack. Zack had wiped his expression clear. This told Cloud everything he needed to know.

He did not offer any advice or bits of wisdom because that simply was not him. However, he needed to do something so he set his things down and half- turned toward his friend. With long practiced moves, he proceeded to attack Zack's right flank.

Zack instantly began squirming, a rather feminine squeal escaping as he tried to escape Cloud's onslaught. It was the only place he was ticklish and only two people knew of it. In the end, he had to jump the rail to get away.

When Cloud hopped over it after him, however, he bolted to the back of the house. A large awning blocked out the rain over the deck and he pivioted on one of the posts. He ignored the startled and confused looks of everyone present and headed for the one who continued to calmly turn vegetable kabobs.

"Seph! Seph!" He slowed himself down by grabbing on to the former general's arm. "He's trying to kill me!"

"Back in the day, you considered that foreplay." He did not bother trying to detach the man clinging to his arm.

"Well it's not now!"

"What are you talking about?" Riku asked, suspicion dripping from his voice. He figured out immediately who 'he' was.

"This." Sephiroth barely moved, hand shooting out to pinch the exact same spot Cloud had assaulted.

"Augh!" Again Zack found himself twisting up, leaping away and almost into Sora. "I hate you both! I swear, I'm glad the two of you don't get along. I would be totally fucked if you ever decided to work together."

Cloud had appeared through the back door by now, having not even tried to chase Zack down. The beer had disappeared and he set the bag on the wood table. He brushed the side of Riku's face as he passed him, sending a light smile in the teen's direction.

Zack was still carrying on about how he hated being tickled.

Sora caught Cloud's eye and smirked. Then he slowly backed away. Cloud took the boy's place, expression showing complete disinterest.

In perfect unison, Cloud and Sephiroth's arms shot out and attacked either side of Zack's body.

The man dropped, practically screaming.

Sephiroth continued cooking and Cloud returned to Riku, who was staring at his boyfriend in total amazement. Cloud said nothing as he leaned against the railing beside him. Riku continued his disbelieving gaze for a minute longer before taking a firm grasp on his fiance's neck and engaging him in a kiss that was definitely not suitable for public viewing.

"That was so not fair!" Zack breathed out from the deck floor. Sora was snickering and the older man smacked his leg. "It's not funny."

"Yes, it is. Usually they all pick on me." The boy's mood was significantly better than it had been earlier in the day.

Zack gave the boy an evil look but took the hand offered him and got to his feet. Sephiroth was smirking lightly. "Oh, don't think this is over, General. I will have revenge."

"At least wait until I'm finished with these." Sephiroth shot a quick glance at his former lieutenant. "Not that I have need to be concerned."

"Oh!" Zack gaped. "That's, that's…"

"The truth." Leon said from the doorway. He leaned against the doorframe, one arm braced above his head. The other held a half-empty beer bottle. "I have no doubt Sephiroth can kick my ass and since he's kicked yours, correct me if I'm wrong, you can't be all that tough."

"Those are fightin' words there, Leonhart." Zack threatened, locking eyes with the other.

Something dark was stirring in those grey depths. "Any time, Fair."

Cloud and Riku had broken apart at some point and still wrapped in each other, they watched the exchange carefully. There was a whole unspoken conversation going on beneath the words. The tension between the two was nearly tangible.

Sora was also picking up something but was unable to quite understand it. He frowned for a second before deciding to switch the subject. "So, uh, the rain's let up."

He cringed at his lame statement but it did the trick. Leon moved from the doorway toward the grill. Zack turned his focus toward Sora. "Wanna hit the grass?"

Blue eyes lit up.

"Not until after dinner." Leon interjected. He was collecting the steaks and vegetables Sephiroth removed from the fire. "Which would be now."

"Ooh, food." Sora bounded over to the pair at the grill, hands greedily reaching for the platter.

"Back," Leon commanded.

Sora complied and stepped away. Once settled, Leon handed over the plate of food. The boy rushed over to the table, set the platter down and immediately grabbed a plate, loading it up.

Riku shook his head and cuffed his best friend. "Try saving some for those of us who actually worked today, Sor."

The younger one pouted but reduced his intake. He sat at one end of the table and actually waited for the others. Sephiroth killed the fire with a wave of his hand then he and Leon came over. Zack followed.

Once the group was seated, Sora placed his hands on the table. "Hey, uh, I wanna say something really quick."

He was met by five curious looks.

"Yeah, um, well I just wanna say that this," he loosely gestured around him. "This makes me really happy. It's kinda like having a complete family."

He stared at the table. "So, uh, that's all."

It was very quiet with only the pattering of the remaining rain sounding from the awning.

Riku smiled and leaned over to ruffle Sora's hair. "Sap."

"Shut up." Sora batted the hand away and the moment broke. He risked a quick glance around. Leon and Zack were exchanging brief looks, obviously trying to keep the other from noticing. Riku was across from him, looking happier than he had probably been in a long time. Beside him was Cloud and then Sephiroth. Neither seemed in the least bit uncomfortable next to each other.

The Keyblade Master felt his heart swell. It was not perfect but it was getting there.

Very light conversation accompanied the meal, all of it amicable. Zack was rather quiet but Cloud and Sephiroth somehow made up for it. Riku's expression grew increasingly brighter. While the words were a bit clipped, there was no animosity behind them.

"Well, Seph, once again a perfect meal." Zack leaned back. "Glad you haven't lost your touch."

"Yeah, that was better than Mom's." Sora praised.

"And that's saying something." Riku added.

Cloud glanced at his one-time adversary. "Just like I remember."

Leon mumbled something that sounded like agreement.

Sephiroth chuckled under his breath. "Thank you."

"Sooo." Sora drew out. He leaned forward to look at Zack. "Wanna go play in the grass now?"

"Is there dessert?"

"Only if you want to make your own." Sephiroth stood and stepped back, letting his wings stretch a bit. "If you have no further need for me I believe I shall make my leave and see you all tomorrow."

Riku looked up at him. Those eyes were swimming with admiration. "Thanks, Seph."

A faint smile appeared but Sephiroth only nodded before leaving.

"Come on, Zack." Sora jumped up. He smacked the man's back as he skipped past, kicking off his shoes.

Zack laughed and followed suit. "How well you think you can keep your balance on wet terrain, kid?"

"Well enough to kick your butt." Sora boasted, already waiting for the other to join him. He looked over at the table. "Come on, Riku."

The older teen shook his head. "I want my desert."

He slid from the bench, literally dragging Cloud with him. "I recommend you all stay outside for a while."

Cloud had locked eyes with him. "Better yet, stay at Aerith's."

Riku's shirt was already half-off by the time they disappeared through the door.

Sora shook his head and Zack snickered from beside him, simply declaring. "I love those two."

Sora snorted but did not add his own thoughts. He turned to Zack and dropped low. "All right, SOLDIER, let's see what you got."

"Get ready to be pounded, kid."

Both assumed ready positions well aware of the sable haired man who was watching them, particularly a certain raven haired fighter, with intense interest.


	11. Chapter 11

Leon's brooding, Zack's angsting.... sounds like a story.

Rewritten Oct 1.

* * *

Zack was amazed at just how much of his combat training he still remembered. After over ten years of disuse (how old was he now, anyway?), he fell into position easily and while some of the movements were stiff, they all came to him naturally. He felt no small amount of pride in that.

What really impressed him was how well Sora kept up with him. There were very few out there who could hold their own against a fully trained SOLDIER, especially a First Class. This barely-seventeen-year-old kid was doing a fine job of it, without any kind of enhancement.

Then again, he was the Keyblade Master.

However, the boy did not have his endurance and after nearly two hours of solid fighting, he was clearly showing signs of fatigue. Zack kept one eye on him, gauging when they should call it quits. He did not want to wear the kid out completely.

The other eye was repeatedly being drawn to the deck, or more specifically, to the man still sitting on the deck. That steely gaze had not removed itself from Zack once since the fight with Sora began. The intensity of it had threatened to break his concentration several times.

Sora was nearly panting, his posture much slacker than it had been at the start. His blue eyes expressed wariness. Yeah, it was time to finish. Besides, Zack was rapidly becoming distracted.

He darted forward and to the left, Sora automatically ducking right. The boy dropped low as if to kick out with his left leg but he never got the chance. Zack's move was a feint, making it look like he was going for a lower body hit.

He whipped his open palm into the back of Sora's head. As the teen stumbled forward off balanced, Zack reversed his position and with the same hand slammed his palm dead center against Sora's chest. Before he had a chance to hit the ground, the ex-SOLDIER had the brunette by the waist, with his other arm wrapped around his neck.

Both were on their knees, Zack holding the back of the boy tightly against his chest. "I'd say you lost."

Sora was breathing heavily. "This time… Hand-to-hand isn't my thing."

"Fine." Zack released him. "Next time, weapons."

Sora grinned widely. "Oh, I will soooo kill you."

"Yeah, we'll see about that." Zack hopped back to his feet. His knees were dirty and grass-stained now, but he did not care. The misty drizzle was enough for him to use the moisture and wipe the knees clean.

Sora was doing the same. Taking advantage of his slightly bent position, Sora eyed first Zack and then Leon. The intense stares those two were giving each other were obvious even to Sora. He recognized the complicated desire, confusion and fear despite not fully understanding it.

He straightened out and stretched his arms above his head. "I think I'm gonna hit the sack. It should be safe to go in there now."

Zack nodded but Leon did not react. He was no longer even trying to disguise where his attention was.

Sora bit his lip, looked once more between them, and headed up the deck steps. As he passed, he set his hand on Leon's shoulder. "See you tomorrow."

The brunette man spared him a brief glance. "Yeah."

Once Sora was gone, Zack wiped his hands together and casually approached the deck. "Well, I suppose I should get out of here…Long day tomorrow."

He felt Leon's eyes burning into him.

He risked looking over, and then he could not pull his gaze away. Those grey eyes were burning with such an intense mix of emotions; Zack couldn't begin to identify them. More importantly, there was no way to tell which of them would win out.

"You don't love me."

The words were so sudden, so out of place, that Zack was certain they had not really been said. Even though he had seen Leon's lips move, nothing had actually been spoken. So why did he respond? "I never said I did."

"I don't even like you." He used the same emotionless tone.

Leon slowly stood, never breaking eye contact. He left the deck and approached Zack, who remained riveted to his spot. He walked right up to him, close enough to take the raven-haired man by the neck and…

"What are you doing to me?" His voice cracked on the last word. The little bit of rain fall was matting his hair and coloring his shirt.

Zack continued to stare, confusion tainting his violet eyes. "I think you have that backward."

"Do I?"

"You think any of this is normal for me?"

"How long did it take for you to bag Cloud?"

Zack almost never lost his temper. Leon could not have been anymore surprised than he when Zack shoved him forward. Leon's back slammed against the low stair railing, the breath knocked out of him. The ex-SOLDIER fisted the younger man's shirt and pressed against him.

He literally hissed at Leon. "Do not bring Cloud into this. If you have an issue with me, leave it with me."

Leon managed to push Zack away. Anger flared brightly in his eyes, jaw locked and brow furrowed. It made the scar on the bridge of his nose all the more prominent. "Why did you pick me?"

"Pick you?" echoed Zack. "What the hell does that mean?"

"You could have found anyone in that bar to fuck. Why me?" Something in his expression twisted. "Do you have any idea…?"

"What? _What_, Leon?" Here they both were, right at the edge of what needed to be said...to be acknowledged. "Do you even know?"

He somehow dodged the fist that was aimed at his face. He took hold of Leon's hand, twisting it and throwing the man down on the wet grass. He straightened and waited for Leon to lift himself up halfway and flip his body back over.

"Look Leonhart, you think you're the only one in the middle of an emotional nightmare? You don't think this entire thing isn't freaking me out also?" Zack spat at him. "I'm fucking wracking my brain out, trying to figure out how _this_ happened!"

He could not deal with this any more. Without further word, he stalked off, leaving a very confused and terrified Leon behind.

He intended to go home, curl up in his bed and force himself to sleep. Instead, he somehow ended up at the bar. Why, he did not know but at that moment, he did not particularly care. He just needed to not think any more.

He ordered the strongest thing they had. Then he took the entire bottle. He doubted it would be enough to get him drunk but as long as it was enough to numb him, he would be happy.

"Zack?"

He did not bother looking. "What?"

"It really is you." In his peripheral vision, Tifa Lockhart slid onto a stool beside him. "It's been a long time."

"Yeah, it has." He took a long drink.

"I hope you got munny, that stuff isn't cheap." She spoke with humor.

"Right about now, I don't really care."

She frowned heavily at him and after a moment, stood. "Come on. Leave that here."

He did not want to, but he got up and followed her upstairs. She turned into a room to the right, flicking on a light. He had assumed she was living over the bar and he walked into a rather large, spacious studio apartment.

"This is nice," Zack commented.

"I like it," She said casually. She motioned him to sit in a large plush chair by the narrow row of windows. As he did this, she went over to a small cabinet set on the floor. After rummaging a moment, she pulled out a bottle of amber liquid. "Here. You look like you need something strong."

"That bad, huh?"

She laughed a bit. "Oh, I recognize that look, believe me. Use to see it every day in the mirror."

She handed him the bottle but he only set it down on the floor. "Thanks for the offer, Tifa."

She took a casual sitting position on her bed. "Leon's really done a number on you."

"I did it to myself." He sighed, combing his hair with his fingers. "I knew better."

Tifa tsked and shook her head. "When it comes to love, _no one_ knows better."

Zack stared at the pale wood floor. Of anyone, Tifa would know something about what this felt like. How long had she pined for Cloud, even knowing she did not have a chance?

She gave him a rather gentle smile, resting her chin on her fist. "It sucks, doesn't it?"

He really did not have to answer that.

With a sigh, she stood. "If you want to stay, there's a small room down the hall."

"Aerith will worry if I don't come home." Not that he really wanted to go back there. He loved the flower girl but he just did not think he could handle her right now.

Tifa laughed. "Who do you think told me to be on the look-out for either you or Leon? I knew it was serious when both she _and_ Cloud came to me."

Despite his depression, Zack smiled a bit at that. It was comforting to know that he had people looking out for him. "Should've known you weren't doing this out of the kindness of your heart."

She tilted her head and gave him a condescending look. "Now you know I thought you were the sexiest man I'd ever seen when I first met you."

"Well everyone thinks that." Zack rolled his eyes.

She came over, smacked his arm and somehow managed to stand him up at the same time. She pulled him from the room and to the other room she spoke of earlier, pointing out the bathroom on the way. Then she pushed him into the much smaller room.

"This isn't a room, it's a closet."

"Oh, quiet. It's a place to sleep away from everyone else." The rain had picked up again and pattered against the small skylight. "Now, don't stay up all night worrying. Come find me in the morning."

"Yes, dear."

She left him alone in the darkened him. With a sigh, he flopped down on one of the twin beds. It happened to be the one under the skylight and he found himself staring up at it, watching the tiny drops of water from the sky pummel the plastic.

He wondered if Leon was all right.

-0-0-

Sora blinked in the relative dark. Dawn was making a very weak attempt to break through the lingering clouds. It had to be about four thirty in the morning. Normally, Sora loved this time of day.

He had awoken earlier than usual, something nagging at him. He glanced behind him and realized Leon had not shown up last night. He frowned and quickly got out of bed.

He may not have been the smartest guy when it came to love, sex and all that but he knew Leon. In addition, he knew that something had been wrong last night. He had a really bad feeling as he hurried downstairs.

The rainfall had stopped but the edges of the awning still dripped. The smell of wet grass greeted him and he took a few steps forward on the deck before seeing what he did not want to see. He took off in a run, slipping a little on the step as he rounded it.

"Leon!" The man was sitting numbly on the lowest wood step, staring at nothing.

Sora gripped his shoulder, noting the other was completely soaked through. "Have you been out here all night?"

"I, I really…" He brought his hands to his face.

Biting his lip, Sora pulled on Leon's arm. "Come on, you're gonna be totally sick."

Leon did not fight him as he was dragged indoors and up the stairs. Sora led him into the bedroom and ordered him to strip down as he began the shower. Then he left the room.

Leon barely noted the sound of the shower starting. Why had he said those words to Zack? They were cruel and had served no purpose. He was disgusted with himself.

Sora came back to find that Leon had not moved. He sighed and began removing Leon's clothing. "Ya know it's a good thing I've seen you naked before; otherwise this would be a lot more awkward."

"Why do you like Zack?" Leon whispered, breaking his silence.

"Huh?" Sora looked up.

"What is it about him that won't let him leave my thoughts? Why can't I push him out?" He was practically rambling. "I built those defenses so carefully and he just… walked right through them."

"Leon." Sora began quietly. "We don't choose who we love, our hearts just connect with certain people."

Leon fell silent again.

The spiky-haired youth finished undressing him and shoved him into the shower. "Warm up in there for a while. I'll be back with dry clothes."

Sora shut the door behind him and sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought. He had expected some conflict, had known the road would be difficult for Leon but… There was a lot more damage to his heart than Sora understood.

"Sora?" Riku's sleepy voice came from his room. Upon seeing his best friend's expression, he woke up further and fully entered the hallway. A pair of sleep pants hung low on his hip, obviously thrown on. "What's wrong, Sor?"

"Leon was out on the deck all night."

Riku frowned and blew out a breath. He rubbed at his tousled hair. "Well, we knew something was going to go down. Any idea where Zack went?"

Sora shook his head. "Honestly, I haven't even thought about it."

Riku was not surprised that Sora's focus was entirely on Leon. He pursed his lips a moment. "Leon's in the shower?"

"Yeah."

"I'm gonna try to talk to him. I don't know that he'll listen but maybe since I'm not directly involved I can get somewhere."

Sora smiled a bit. "Thanks. I really don't know what to say or do for him."

"Hey, he's my friend, too." Riku made a face. "Just 'cause I've never slept with him doesn't mean I don't care."

The younger of the set stuck out his tongue.

The silvered one smirked. "Save it for Pacifica."

"Whaa…?" Sora gaped. How did he know about that?

Riku grinned as he passed Sora. "You all seem to think all Cloud and I do is have sex."

He lightly tapped on the door. "Leon? It's Riku, I'm coming in."

When there was no answer, he frowned at his best friend then he went in.

--0—0—

"Hey, there sleepy."

Zack blinked against the light. As his eyes came into focus, he saw a slight mass of blue and pink topped with brown. A glow seemed to radiate around it. "Hey, Angel."

Aerith laughed. It was an old joke between them, going back to when he fell through the roof of that old church in Sector 5 she was at. When Cloud did the exact same thing a few years later, it had to be total déjà vu for here.

"What time is it?" Zack sat up. He was on top of the blankets, fully clothed. He had not even known he had fallen asleep.

"About noon."

"Noon?" He echoed. He swung his legs off the bed. "Leon's gonna kill me."

"I don't think Leon will be doing much of anything for a while."

"What?" An unreasonable panic seized him.

She smiled gently at him. "It's just a chill; it hasn't even truly hit him yet."

He stared at her. "How'd he get that?"

"I think that's a story you should hear from him."

"He doesn't want to talk to me." Zack stood, taking the few steps to the tiny window across the small room. "He doesn't want me at all."

"You know that isn't true." Aerith chastised.

"No, I don't." He snorted.

"Yes, you do," Aerith spoke a bit sternly. "Neither of you are listening to your hearts."

Zack smiled tightly. Leave it to Aerith. "You know, sometimes I really don't like you."

"Funny, Cloud's taken to saying the same thing."

He stared out the frosted glass for a long moment. Listen to his heart, huh. He could do that. Just stop thinking about what he felt and why he felt it and simply allow himself to feel it. "I care a lot for him, Aerith."

"Then you know what the next step is."

"Yeah." He was going to have to make Leon talk to him. He dreaded it but they had to figure this out.

"Good." His ex-girlfriend stood and smoothed out her skirt. "I knew you'd be the easy one."

"I'm not easy."

"No, you're a tease." Tifa grinned from the doorway. Had she been there the whole time? "I've got food for you downstairs."

"Ooh, food?" He perked up considerably.

Aerith lightly hit his stomach. "You and Sora. You're both bottomless pits."

"It's the metabolism."

Tifa opened her mouth to say something but held back.

"What?" Zack narrowed his eyes at her.

"Nothing." She turned, nearly black hair swinging behind her. "I've got a bar to open."

Zack looked at Aerith but the woman only shrugged. "I brought you fresh clothes."

"Good. Where are they?"

"In the bath. I figured you'd want a shower."

"Probably a good idea." He did rather smell like sweat and dirt, not to mention the dried smears of grass stains on his skin. "Sora's a damn good fighter."

"He is." She agreed. "And he fights his battles on every level."

Surprisingly, he understood exactly what she was saying.

"See you downstairs."


	12. Chapter 12

Surprise! Yeah.

Rewritten Oct 5.

* * *

After some food, Zack was feeling somewhat better. He knew he was going to have to talk to Leon at some point but for now, he would not worry about it. Worrying was not going to get him anywhere. Besides, he was supposed to be the laid-back one, this… anxiety was not him.

He and Aerith walked toward the center of town, both quiet. There was an awful lot of activity today, as well as several new faces. Some of those expressions were full of joy, others awed, and a few appeared a bit shell-shocked.

Zack surveyed the street ahead. "What's all this?"

Aerith tilted her head a moment before a smile suddenly lit her face. "Oh! A new group of refugees was supposed to arrive today! I completely forgot."

"Really? Guess that means things are going to be busy." This meant he could put off seeing Leon for that much longer…

"It's likely." She looked at him. "Do you want to help get them settled?"

"Sure."

They spent all day processing the new arrivals. Zack jumped around between each station, assisting wherever the flow was backed up. He particularly enjoyed the final step of the process. Once everyone received their housing assignment and their supplies, there was such a sense of relief that came over them.

Leon made only a brief appearance around midmorning, making sure everything was being handled. He looked rather tired and a bit flushed. After assuring himself that the process was running smoothly, he left Aerith in charge and returned to the water works.

He figured he had to have spoken to at least half of the people that came through. He again found himself thankful for his SOLDIER training, for he found it easy to interact with everyone and still keep the groups flowing. As the crowds thinned out and the lines shortened, he leaned back in his chair and sighed.

Small hands began rubbing at his shoulders. "Feeling better now?"

"Actually, yeah, I do." He twisted his head to look at Aerith. "All these people lost everything and now they're here and they can start putting the pieces back together. It really is amazing, isn't it?"

"It is," She agreed. "And nearly all of it is due to Leon."

"That man's something else." Zack breathed out.

"Yes, he is."

"Hey, who said the two of you could take a break?" Riku's voice cut through the soft commotion around them. "There are still people to check in."

Zack did not bother looking down. "You're not the boss of me."

"No, but I am, First Class."

Zack leapt to his feet in mock terror. "Yes, Sir!"

Sora chuckled at the display; Sephiroth merely smirked. "That was slow and sloppy, Colonel."

"My apologies, General;" The mocking tone never left Zack, nor did Sephiroth's smirk. "Now move it, there are people to take care of."

"This is the last of them, too." Yuna flew ahead of the other two Gullwings. The three were carrying out escort duty, guiding the various groups to the next station. "Only ten in the bunch."

"Yeah." Rikku nodded emphatically, "And some of them are real downers, like seriously."

"They have reason to be." Paine folded her tiny arms. "Most of them have been lost in the darkness for a long time."

"That blonde guy is a lot of fun." Rikku protested. "I like him."

Paine sighed. "You would."

"Anyway, here are the files." Yuna snapped her fingers and a short stack of papers appeared on the table. "We have to go find Leon now."

"Yeah." Rikku flipped her blonde braids. "He better be able to pay us this time."

Sora clearly wanted to say something to the… pixies? Fairies? Whatever they were; before he could, however, they disappeared. "Those guys are so annoying. And they always pick on Leon."

Aerith took up the files, slowly flipping through them.

"Those three are the strangest little females I've seen." Zack shook his head, "And I've seen some strange ones."

"They do what they can." Riku shrugged. "I think they're pretty useful."

Sora snorted. "If you pay them. And you only like them because you use them to track Cloud."

Riku laughed nervously as Zack and Sephiroth looked at him curiously. "I don't do that."

Behind Zack, Aerith made a soft noise. He turned and frowned at her. "What?"

She quickly recovered. "Oh, nothing; It's just some of these people…"

The raven-haired man clearly did not believe her. He twisted his lip and folded his arms. "Aer."

She bit her lip, uncertain as to whether she should say something. Slowly, she pulled out the page and handed it not to Zack, but to Sora. The boy took it with a confused expression. He read the paper over and as he did, his eyes widened.

At the end of the page, he stared at Aerith. "You don't think…?"

"Can it be anyone else?"

Sora's blue eyes subtly shifted toward Zack. "I don't know if he can handle this right now."

"What?" Riku asked sternly, the intensity of his voice a match to the expression on Sephiroth's face.

Sora handed the sheet to his best friend and both brothers skimmed it over. "Whoa, hold on. This guy is from…."

"That's what it looks like." Sora bit his lip. "We need to make sure."

"Oh, definitely," Riku agreed. He faced Aerith. "Where are they?"

"The tailor's for clothes fitting."

Handing the files back to her, he turned back to Sora, "Come on."

The teenagers rushed off. Zack had no clue what any of them had been talking about. Moreover, what had that little look Sora gave him meant? He looked between Aerith and Sephiroth in annoyance. "Okay, what the hell was all that about?"

"It appears one of Leonhart's former associates has found his way here." Sephiroth answered casually. "Once it is confirmed there will have to be discussion as to how to inform him."

Zack narrowed his eyes. Why were they all freaking out about Leon's reaction to one of his friends arriving? It was obvious that he was upset that none of them had, this should be good news.

Aerith sighed. "At any other time this would be wonderful."

"It is," Zack said firmly. "This is a really good thing."

Both turned their focus on him.

"Leon wants absolution, that's why he does all of this. He keeps himself so closed off, because he thinks he failed everyone he cared about, right? So, if one of them is here, safe, he'll know he didn't fail them and then maybe…"

Aerith smiled at him sympathetically. "That's only part of Leon's concerns, Zack. There is so much more you don't know."

Sephiroth watched his friend carefully. He said nothing, but it was obvious that something was working its way through his mind. Abruptly, he turned. "I believe I shall see if Leonhart is in need of any further assistance at the works."

He left quickly and Zack pursed his lips.

"Zack…"

"What, Aerith?"

She paused. "Don't give up on his heart. Leon's going to need us more than ever in the coming days."

He stared at her, but she simply stepped past him, taking the files with her. Why was no one telling him anything? Here they were, encouraging him to pursue a real relationship with the man, and yet they continued to remind him of just how little he knew about him.

He _wanted_ to know. He wanted to know _everything,_ but it seemed as if no one was willing to tell him anything. Just what exactly did they think they were accomplishing? This entire situation was nothing but a horrendous mess.

Damn it all.

He left, going the opposite direction of everyone else. This was ridiculous. He despised these complicated situations. The only thing he hated more was complicated feelings. Why did he always fall for the emotionally damaged ones?

"Zack."

Speaking of emotionally damaged boyfriends…

He sighed. "Hey, Cloud."

The blonde turned and set his bag down on the low wall that ran along the street. Then he hopped up on it, and laced his fingers before him, He simply looked at Zack and waited.

It took less than a minute. "I think I'm in love."

"I could have told you that."

"I'm serious, Cloud."

"So am I."

"I just, I don't know how to handle this." He had never felt this lost before. "Do I say something to him? Confront him? Should I back off? I feel like I know him, and yet, I literally know _nothing_!"

Cloud watched him seriously, as he began pacing a few steps back and forth. "Everyone keeps dropping all these vague hints about how messed up Leon is but won't tell me how! I can see that he has some major issues! Do you know how much it hurts to look at him sometimes? It hurts _me_. I don't want to see him like this."

"You need to talk to Sora."

He stopped. "What?"

"Sora knows more about Leon than any of us," Cloud explained quietly. "Tell him I said to talk to you about him."

"Why?"

"Because otherwise, he won't;" Cloud got back to his feet. "Sora has vowed to keep Leon's secrets. He told me, however, that if I felt it would help the situation he would talk to you."

The blonde took a step closer to his ex. Blue met violet in a steady gaze. "You love him. I know you can help him."

"He doesn't want help. He wants to forget."

Cloud smiled sadly. "He says that, but if that was what he truly wanted, he never would have told us his real name."

The guy had a point. "I suppose."

"Leon is very important to us. We all watch him carefully and we've all felt helpless to do anything to ease some of that guilt and pain he holds onto so tightly." He blew out a soft breath. "He's worse than I ever was. Sora was able to do a lot for him; he gave Leon someone to really talk to. I know the story and we have an unspoken understanding of one another, but he's never actually _talked_ to me.

"What Leon really needs is connection. He needs to learn how to feel again…and not be afraid of the consequences of doing that. He needs to simply enjoy knowing that someone loves him, and that he can love them back."

Zack had never imagined hearing these words from Cloud. It only reinforced yet again how much things had changed. How long was it going to be before he really understood this new world he had entered? He pushed the question aside.

"I don't know what you all think I can do." Black hair brushed his forehead as a wind kicked up.

"It isn't what we think, Zack." Cloud smiled. "It's what we know you can do. The only question is _how_…and that is entirely up to you."

Cloud picked up the bag he had been carrying, brushed past Zack, and began heading home again. "Dinner will probably be late."

--0—0—

Riku and Sora sat on the front steps of the house. The younger one's brow was furrowed in concern. The other looked less worried but leaned against the wood rail heavily.

"We should just tell him," Riku concluded. "I mean, maybe Zack's right. This could be a really good thing."

"It is a really good thing. I'm just worried that with everything else he's dealing with, it's gonna be too much and he's gonna… I don't know, snap." Sora shook his head. "We can't just walk up to him and say 'guess what? Zell's here!'"

"I think we're over thinking all of this."

"Maybe." Blue eyes flicked toward Riku. "You didn't tell me how the conversation went this morning."

Riku sighed and rubbed at his knee. "It wasn't bad. He knows what he wants, and I am nearly positive he knows what he's feeling. I think the denial part is no longer an issue."

"Which is why he's freaking out."

"Pretty much."

Sora bit his lip and studied the stairs. "Losing Rinoa completely shattered him."

"Yeah." Riku still did not have most of the details but he knew who Rinoa was and what she had meant to Leon. He looked up, giving a light smile. "Hey, Cloud."

"What's wrong now?" The blonde stopped at the foot of the steps, taking in the somber expressions of the teenagers.

"Has Leon ever talked about a guy named Zell?"

"Yeah; they were in the same group in Garden. Why?"

"He's here."

Cloud's features barely changed, but to Riku they clearly expressed surprise. "That's going to make things interesting."

"What do think we should do?" Sora suddenly became very animated. "I mean, Leon's gonna see him eventually, but should we go ahead and tell him or wait for them to run into each other, or bring one of them to the other or-"

"Sora," Riku placed a restraining hand on Sora's shoulder. "Stop."

"Tell him," The elder of the group advised. "It's going to be a shock either way. It will be easier to be the ones to bring it to him and then we can deal with whatever his reaction is directly."

Riku nodded and after a moment, Sora followed.

Cloud stepped between them, brushing Riku's shoulder as he passed and headed for the house. On the landing, he paused. "Zack should be there when you tell him."

Sora blinked in confusion. "Why?"

"So he can see his exact reaction." He answered in a tone that left no room for further question.

--0—0—

Leon walked into the house with heavy steps, rubbing at the scar across the bridge of his nose. He felt like shit, Sora had been right about getting sick, and he simply wanted to crawl into bed. Never waking up sounded rather appealing also.

"You look like death warmed up," Riku commented from the kitchen.

He did not bother to reply and continued through the front room on auto-pilot. His bed was oh-so-close…

"Leon."

He paused.

"The new group came in."

"I know. They all get settled?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful." He began moving again. "I'm going to bed."

Sora, who had been completely ignored on the sofa, frowned. He took in Leon's appearance and stood. "I told you this would happen."

He strode over to the man, placed both hands on his back and gently pushed him forward. "Riku, do you remember how to make Mom's broth?"

"Already on it." He had opened the small sealed herb container, looking for the one's he needed. Sora and Leon disappeared upstairs.

As he started warming the chicken stock, Cloud came in. Taking in the scene, he wordlessly set water to boil for tea. Then he leaned on the counter near the sink, staying out of Riku's way. Once the younger male finished adding what he needed to the stock, he turned toward the blonde.

Riku wrapped his arms around Cloud's waist tightly, burying his face in his neck. Cloud raised an eyebrow but reached his own arms around the slightly larger body. They held one another for a moment before Riku placed a light kiss on his fiancé's neck and pulled away.

He turned back to the stove and Cloud just had to ask. "What was that about?"

"Do I have to have a reason?"

"No."

"I'm just so glad we found one another"

"Okay."

"And that both of us got our shit together well enough that we never ended up like Leon."

Cloud stepped forward, resting his hands on Riku's shoulders and casually kneading at the muscles. "I don't want to think about how easily I could have fallen into the same hell."

There was a single tap on the door before it opened and Zack hesitantly appeared. He grinned uneasily toward the kitchen as he came in. "Uh, hey."

"Leon went and made himself sick," Cloud stated with no preamble. He did not move away from his lover.

A deep frown marred Zack's usually relaxed face. "How'd he do that?"

"Spent all night sitting in the rain." Riku flicked his aqua eyes toward Zack.

The man sighed and fell back against the door. "Wonderful."

"Don't blame yourself." The teenager admonished. "He's the idiot."

"He wouldn't be going through all of this if I hadn't-"

"Stop right there." Cloud interrupted harshly. He left the kitchen and went to Zack, a rather angry glint to his blue eyes. "Leon _needs_ to go through this. He needs to heal and I am beyond relieved that it is _you_ that is making it happen."

Zack stared at the younger one.

"Now, stop trying to be the depressed one because that's Riku and my job." The blonde pivoted on his heel and returned to the kitchen. Riku was snickering as he stirred the pot before him.

Zack abruptly laughed. There was a distinctly uneasy tone to it but his violet eyes twinkled. "That's it. I give up trying to understand any of this."

"Good plan." Riku poured some of the broth into an oversized mug. "Now, go give this to Leon and make sure he drinks all of it."

"Why can't you…?" Zack shook his head. "Never mind; I know why."

He came forward and at the kitchen entry Cloud handed him the ceramic. Riku gave the First Class a little encouraging smile and Cloud lightly tapped his shoulder. Then they sent him off.

He slowly approached the half-shut bedroom door, more nervous than he had been when facing off against Sephiroth when the General went insane. This should not be so hard. It was not like they were fighting; things were just a little awkward.

_Keep telling yourself that, Fair._

He pushed the door open a bit further and cautiously entered. Leon was settled into his bed, pillows propping him up and sheets gathered around him. There was a rather deep scowl on his face but it was weakened by his pale color and the dark circles beneath his eyes.

Sora sat close to him, back of his hand pressed to the older man's cheek, checking for fever.

Both looked over when Zack entered. Sora grinned but Leon's scowl seemed to deepen. However, something in his eyes changed. They seemed to be rather bright but that could easily be written off by the fever he likely had.

"Uh, Riku sent me up." He came further into the room. "He said you had to drink all of this."

"He does." Sora gave the sable-haired man a smile. "That is my mom's famous cold fixing broth. By tomorrow, you'll be well on your way to fine again."

The boy stood up and crossed the room. He brushed past Zack and headed for the door. He paused in the door frame and turned. "Make sure he drinks that whole glass of water too, Zack."

Then he left, shutting the door behind him.


	13. Chapter 13

REWRITTEN Oct 8

* * *

Zack stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. Leon had looked away and was staring at the bedspread. Tension blanketed both of them and neither had any idea what they could do to fix it.

"I guess you better drink this." Zack murmured, only stepping over close enough to hand the large mug over to Leon. The man's fingers brushed his as he took it.

The silence remained as Leon experimentally sipped the broth. "This isn't too bad."

"I hate medicine."

"I thought the whole Mako thing pretty much eliminated the need for anything medicine related."

"It does." Zack shrugged a bit. "Doesn't change the fact that I hate the stuff."

"I suppose."

An ounce of tension lifted. At least they were still capable of small talk. Maybe some kind of relationship could be salvaged from all of this. As long as Zack could remain on friendly terms with the other man, he figured he would be all right. He could handle this.

Leon took a longer drink and set the mug down on his lap, cradling it in both hands. He leaned his head back and sighed. "I'm such an idiot."

The sable-haired man could have been referring to any number of things. Zack kept quiet, waiting to see if the other would continue with this train of thought. He did not want to cause Leon to clam up if he felt like talking.

Leon coughed, frowning a bit. "Damn it."

Zack could not keep himself from smirking. He quickly covered it up but Leon noticed it.

"What?"

"You brought it on yourself."

Leon scowled, "Maybe."

"Maybe?" Zack repeated. "Who's the idiot who spent all night in the rain?"

Blue-grey eyes glared at him. It was obvious that he wanted to say something vicious to the other man. After a moment, however, the fight left him and his body just relaxed. He sighed and brought the mug to his lips again. "Are you just going to stand there?"

"I was ordered to see that you finished the broth and water."

"And like a good soldier, you're going to obey."

"Do you really want me to leave?" Zack feared the answer he was about to get.

"Yes."

Zack set his jaw and nodded. Fine, if that was what Leon wanted. He turned away and took a step toward the door.

"No." The sick man sighed again. "I don't know."

"I think you do."

"Maybe I do."

Zack waited.

"Would you bring me the tissue?"

Without a word, the raven-haired man went to the desk, picked up the box and took it to Leon. He remained a solid foot away from the bed as he handed over the item. When Leon reached for it, his fingers again brushed with Zack's own. The box was large enough that the contact was not necessary.

"Thank you."

Zack nodded once but did not move away. He was waiting for something to happen but he had no idea as to what exactly. A sign? A statement? Something. Something was going to have to break soon.

Leon took another long draw of the broth. He coughed again, grimacing and rubbing at his chest. Setting the mug to the side, he took the water and after a long, slow drink of it, he set that to the side also. No sooner was that done than an actual coughing fit began.

He straightened out during it and out of pure reflex, Zack stepped closer and began rubbing at the man's back. When the fit subsided, he did not stop the ministrations. Leon's shoulders relaxed but he did not fall back. He simply let Zack continue.

"I thought the broth was supposed to fix things."

Zack chuckled once. "It probably is. It's making all the gunk come up."

"Great." The brunette breathed out. It sounded painful. "Settle in for a rough night."

Zack could not tell if that remark was aimed at him or if it was just Leon speaking to himself. He continued kneading at Leon's back muscles and for a few minutes, neither of them spoke. The tension level had been cut in half somehow.

"I haven't been ill in a very long time."

"Yeah, same here," Zack muttered conversationally.

"That's because you've been dead." A strange tone entered Leon's voice as he said that and he paused for a moment. "Do you think death is the same for everyone? Not in the 'everyone goes to the same place' sense, but…"

As he trailed off, he sighed again. Though he had not been able to finish the thought, Zack understood what he was asking.

"I can't really say what other people on other worlds experience. I can't even really say what others back home experienced," He slowly stated. "In the Lifestream, time just kinda lost all meaning. I knew I was dead, and I remembered everything about my life. I still felt things but there was a sense of detachment."

"Cloud says you watched over him."

"I did, but not until after Aerith arrived. She came to me and we stuck together after that. We both watched over Cloud."

"Why did you never try to contact him like Aerith did?" He seemed genuinely curious.

Zack took a moment to consider his words. "I suppose I could have but I never wanted to. All I have ever wanted was for Cloud to be happy. If I had kept interfering with his life, he never would have let go. He was having such a hard time trying to move on already.

"I love that man to this day and seeing how happy he is now, I know I was right to stay away. The living need to go on living and the dead need to be allowed to rest." He fell silent.

He had stopped rubbing at Leon's back, but his hand rested casually against it. Leon himself had fallen back a bit against the pillow. They were simply comfortable.

Leon coughed again and Zack retrieved the glass of water with his other hand to give it to him. The brunette sipped it before slowly returning it to Zack. "So, would you say that Cloud moving on gave you peace?"

Leon was clearly going somewhere with this. "Yeah, I mean, I was gone and never coming back…well, under normal circumstances, never coming back. Now that I _am _back, well, I'm glad he didn't spend the rest of his life mourning. He realized he needed to live."

Another coughing fit began. Leon leaned forward and Zack began rubbing circles again. That was when he saw the tears in the corner of the other man's eye. It had to be from the violent coughing.

The fit subsided and this time Leon fell back rather heavily, catching Zack's arm behind him. There was a slight wheeze to his breath and he kept his watery eyes closed. Zack's arm was at a rather uncomfortable angle, but he did not want to try moving it.

When he realized, however that the younger man was falling asleep he shifted his hand in an effort to simply pull the arm out from beneath him. As he did this, Leon mumbled a protest. Looking down at the sleepy face, Zack dropped to his knees beside the bed.

As Leon slipped into a full sleep, Zack rested his own head on his own shoulder. He could stay like this for a while. He closed his own eyes and for several minutes listened to Leon's slightly labored breath.

Once he knew Leon was completely out, he carefully pulled his arm out. He brushed some bangs from Leon's sweaty forehead and wondered what that conversation had been about. Why was Leon suddenly so interested in Zack's time in the Lifestream?

Figuring the man would be asleep for a while; he collected what was left of the broth and quietly left the room. He descended into the main room, Sora, Riku, and Cloud looking at him. He went into the kitchen, setting the mug on the counter before heading into the room with the others.

"He's sleeping," He explained, settling himself in the easy chair.

"How much did he get down?" Riku asked.

"Most of it; He started coughing up shit."

"Good."

Zack leaned forward, forearms resting on his knees. "I gotta ask you guys something. The reason Leon's so withdrawn, the real reason, is because someone he loved died, isn't it?"

Three sets of eyes trained on him.

"Just now, he was asking me about being dead." The raven-haired man explained slowly. "He wanted to know what my thoughts were while watching Cloud, and how I felt about him moving on."

He looked up at his former lover. "I am truly relieved that you did."

"I've never doubted that."

Violet eyes turned to Sora. "I'm right, though, aren't I?"

Sora bit his lip and studied the water bottle in his hands. "Yeah; Leon blames himself for it. I've tried telling him there wasn't anything he could do, but he just…"

"Apparently, Rinoa died just before Leon got there." Cloud took up the story. "He had gotten sidetracked and when he finally reached her, it was too late."

Zack fell against the chair, throwing his head back to stare at the ceiling. He was quiet for a long time before blowing out a breath. "I don't stand a chance."

"That's not true and you know it."

"I don't know that, Cloud." Zack countered. "Leon has big time survivor's guilt and to top it off, is convinced he failed the one he loves. That does a _lot_ of damage."

The blonde snorted. "And of course, I don't know anything about that."

Zack turned his head to look at Cloud. "I never said you didn't, Spiky. But Leon's different than you."

Before anything else could be said, Sora slowly got to his feet. "Come on, Zack. Let's go get some ice cream."

--0—0—

Sora walked atop the stone wall leading to the Bailey. Zack matched steps with him as both casually ate their ice cream. Sora had explained that Zack was having a really rough time and Scrooge had again cut him a break and given it to him free. The old tycoon really was a softy.

"Riku and I talked to Zell," The brunette stated, licking at a drip from his bar. "He's a really fun guy."

"Did you tell him about Leon?"

"Yeah, a little; he didn't seem all that surprised about him changing his name." Sora noted. "In fact, most of what we told him didn't seem to surprise him. They were in the same class in Garden."

Zack made a non-committal noise.

"Zell says that Leon always kept himself an arm's length from everyone. I guess Quistis, that's one of their other friends, really had a thing for him, but he acted as if he never noticed. Zell thinks he knew but was too afraid to acknowledge it."

Sora finished his ice cream and hopped off the wall. He cut past Zack to throw the stick away. When he turned back, Zack had paused and was gazing over the rooftops. He had a very distant look to his face.

"So Rinoa was the first and only."

Sora stepped up to stand beside him. "Yeah…And he fought against those feelings with everything he had, too. He pushed her off so effectively that for a while there, she was with Seifer."

"The guy who gave him the scar?"

"Yep; they were rivals in school. Seifer bullied Leon a lot, or rather, he tried to." Sora jumped up to sit on the wall he had been walking on. "The whole thing was a real mess and Leon knows that he was responsible for a lot of it.

"It wasn't really until Ultimicea took Rinoa away, and the whole time compression thing that he finally admitted to himself that he loved her."

Zack arched a black eyebrow and gave Sora a sidelong look.

"It's really complicated and I know if I try to explain it, I'll just screw it up royally. Simply put, they all got separated and lost but their hearts brought them back together." Sora grinned. Yes, he was oversimplifying, but it did not matter for the point he was trying to make. "Once Leon accepted what his heart was telling him, he threw everything he had into it."

"…And he ended up regretting it," Zack muttered bitterly.

"No." Sora snapped. "That's the point. He _doesn't_ regret it. He was happy while he was with Rinoa. That was one of the greatest times in his life. What he's afraid of is that he's found someone else that he knows he can find that same happiness with… And he understands that he could lose that happiness just as easily as he did the first time."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"But you can't promise that you won't be taken away." Sora smiled sadly. "Rinoa wasn't taken by the Heartless. When they came, chaos broke out. Leon fought with the others, believing Rinoa was safe. She wasn't content to stay behind and she went out on her own to fight. Leon found out about it and went to find her.

"On the way, he came across a group that was being completely overwhelmed. They clearly didn't stand a chance so he helped them. While he was doing that, Rinoa had joined up with another group and somehow, another member of that group hit her. The wound was fatal."

"Friendly fire."

"I hate that expression." Sora frowned before continuing. "Leon reached them a few minutes after she died. _That's_ what he can't let go of. If he hadn't stopped to help those people, he could have saved her. At least that's what he thinks."

"And that's where the conflict comes in." Zack slowly worked out. "He's glad he helped those people but thinks it was at the expense of his love. So to see that he never has to risk going through that again, he's given up on love so he can serve the greater good without fear."

"Exactly; He tried to shut out all attachment but the need for friendship was too strong."

"That's why he's so dedicated to the restoration here, also. He feels guilty for even thinking about not helping those people."

Suddenly, Leon, no _Squall Leonhart_, made perfect sense to Zack. Everything fit together to complete the puzzle and while he still did not know the whole story, it no longer mattered. He knew _Leon_.

Moreover, any doubt he had about being in love with the man disappeared.

He looked at Sora appreciatively. "You really are a hell of a lot smarter than anyone gives you credit for."

"Only when it comes to people's hearts," The boy countered. "Actually, I don't even get my own."

"Kid, no one understands their own heart."

"I don't doubt that." Sora laughed. He slid off the wall and looked across town. "You think Pacifica's home?"

The sun was very low in the sky but it was not too late. "Probably. You gonna pay her a visit?"

"I was thinking about it."

Zack grinned and ruffled the brunette's spikes of hair. "Go get her, kid."

Sora looked at him, a slightly mischievous glint to his blue eyes. "Only if you promise to do the same."

"I'm sure as hell gonna try."

--0—0—

Zack returned to the house, renewed energy in his steps. He felt so much better now that he understood Leon's reservations better. Even if things did not work out, even if he could not get through to Leon's heart, he would put his whole self into the effort of healing the sable-haired man's wounded heart.

He walked in the door and Cloud and Riku immediately looked up. Riku was half-lying on Cloud and it seemed the couple had been simply talking to one another. The younger one's fingers were laced through blonde hair.

Zack grinned at them. Riku raised an eyebrow questioningly but Cloud smiled back; no one said anything. Zack continued on his way upstairs and with none of the prior hesitation, he opened Leon's bedroom door.

The man was still asleep, lightly wheezing. He had kicked off the blankets and a faint sheen of sweat covered his face. He coughed a few times, face twisting as he did so.

Zack ducked back out, going to the bathroom for a damp washcloth. When he returned, he softly shut the door behind him and stepped over to the bed. There was enough room for him to partially lie beside the younger male. With his arm arched around the top of Leon's head, Zack began patting his face with the damp cloth.

Leon sighed a bit, turning his head to almost nuzzle into Zack's side. Zack quietly continued his ministrations, also working on Leon's sweaty neck. Once finished he set the cloth to the side next the water from earlier.

"Zack?" Leon's voice was scratchy and painful to hear.

"Yeah." The raven-haired man answered. "Want some water?"

Leon nodded.

Zack took the glass and Leon managed to pick himself up enough to take a sip of it. As Zack returned it to its place, Leon weakly reached out and placed his hand on the other's chest. Zack brushed some sable hair from Leon's forehead.

"Don't go." The words were barely whispered as sleep reclaimed Leon.

Zack repositioned himself so that his shoulder became Leon's pillow. His hand gently stroked layered hair and Leon's arm remained where it was on Zack's chest. Even though he knew the other had fallen asleep by then, he whispered, "I'm not going anywhere."


	14. Chapter 14

Rewritten Oct 12

* * *

Leon groaned a bit, turning into the warmth beside him. He felt achy all over and his chest and throat hurt. However, he was still oddly comfortable. He did not open his eyes but knew who was carefully holding him.

He smiled into Zack's chest, deciding that at least for now he was going to enjoy this. There was nothing wrong with accepting comfort from someone. He felt safe with Zack, and more complete than he had in a long time.

After talking to Riku the other morning, he had been able to admit to himself that he truly cared for the black-haired man. He wanted to be able to simply _be _with the man, to feel _this_ all the time. He just _could not_.

A cough escaped him and Zack stirred. Without a word, the older man reached over and retrieved the water glass, handing it to Leon. Leon weakly grinned, taking it from him. "Thanks."

"No prob."

He sat up a little to sip on the water then returned it to Zack, who returned it to the nightstand. When he did, he hesitantly began moving his other arm away but Leon fell back onto it before he could. The pair lay there comfortably, not speaking for some time.

"This feels nice," Leon murmured.

"I could get used to it."

"Hmm…" Leon coughed lightly. There was no way to determine what the sable-haired man was thinking at the moment. Zack could not even see his face from the position he was in.

"Rinoa liked cuddling," He stated softly. "I never really understood the appeal until now."

"Cloud likes it, too. But don't tell him I told you that."

Leon snorted; "So long as you don't tell anyone about this."

Zack frowned, a weight settling in his chest. He forced a chuckled. "Wouldn't want it to get out that Stone-Cold likes to be held."

Silence fell between them again, thick with unspoken feelings.

"I'm sorry, Zack." Leon shifted some so that his body was not as close but his head remained in the older man's shoulder. "I didn't want to put you though this. You deserve someone who isn't…"

"Afraid?"

Leon tensed a bit but quickly relaxed. "I thought Rinoa would be the only one. She worked so hard to make me open up, to make me start letting people in. I loved her so much and I lost her… If I hadn't…"

On reflex, Zack began threading his fingers through Leon's shaggy locks of hair.

"It's an impossible choice. Even if I hadn't stopped to help those people, I still wouldn't have been able to live with myself. There are times when I think to myself that Rinoa would have hated me if she found out I hadn't helped them." The former SeeD coughed again. Zack was fairly certain it had little to do with the cold. "I know she would have. She was willing to give her life to save them and she did.

"I still get mad at her for going out there. I told her to stay in the safe house but I should have known she wouldn't. That wasn't the type of person she was."

"She sounds like a good woman," Zack whispered.

"She was amazing." Leon brought a hand up to rest on Zack's chest. "I never thought I would ever care for someone as much as I did her."

The First Class remained quiet. He had no idea where this was going. Leon was trying to say something but he was uncertain as to what.

Leon shook his head against Zack's chest. "I can't make that choice again. I have to choose now which one to keep: duty or love. I can't have both."

"Why not?" Zack finally broke, emotion coloring his words. "We have all faced that choice. ...And we will again. That's the life we live, and it's not going to change. Even if we don't stay together, it won't change our feelings. We would still have to make the same choice."

Leon raised his head and met Zack's eyes. He searched around for something and Zack knew the moment he found it. Steel colored eyes darkened with pain and he dropped his head back down. "I'm sorry… I just can't…"

Zack bit his lip but his voice was steady. "I understand. I can't make you love me."

The other man's fist tightened against Zack's chest. "That isn't right."

"What isn't?"

"That I don't love you."

They remained how they were for a full minute before Zack could not stand it anymore. In what he hoped was not an aggressive movement, he removed himself from the bed. He picked up the nearly empty glass and went for the door. "I'm getting you some juice or something."

He did not wait for a reply.

Downstairs, Sora and Riku looked at him from the kitchen table. Cloud had disappeared. The teens exchanged glances, but waited for Zack to speak. It was obvious that they had a good idea what was going on.

"Do you have any juice around here?" Zack asked as he opened the fridge. He pulled out the container and retrieved a fresh glass. "Did you find Pacifica?"

"Yeah," answered Sora, blue eyes filled with concern.

"And...?"

"And we're going out tomorrow. Or tonight… what time is it any way?" He searched for a clock.

"Good." Zack replaced the juice to the fridge. "I should have stuck with women. They're less difficult than the men I'm attracted to."

"What happened?" Riku questioned slowly.

Zack shrugged. "He can't deal with it and I'm not going to force him into something he doesn't want."

"But," Sora stuttered; "I really thought he loved you."

Zack smiled defeatedly. "He does and that's the problem."

Riku sighed. "I really wish we could do more."

"Forget it." The older man grabbed the glass and headed for the stairs. "I haven't totally given up quite yet."

He grinned at the teens and returned up stairs.

Leon had turned on his side and was hacking up fluid into the washcloth Zack had used on him the night before. When it subsided, he fell back against the pillow and there were tears in his eyes. He did not look at Zack as the man approached the bed.

"Here." The raven-haired man held out the juice. When Leon gripped it, Zack took the soiled cloth and tossed it into the laundry basket then located the tissues. He brought the box over and dropped it on the bed. "Sounds like you're getting it out of your system."

"This sucks." Leon croaked out, finishing the juice and setting the empty glass on the stand.

"Tell me about it."

Leon closed his teary eyes and took several long breaths. "Zack, I-"

"Don't want to hear it right now." The First Class folded his arms. "While you're sick is not the best time for a serious heart-to-heart."

Those grey eyes opened into slits to regard him. "I suppose not."

"Get some more sleep." Zack instructed. "I'm sure Aerith will be showing up sometime this morning to work on you."

"Probably;" The eyes slid shut again. "Thank you, Zack."

There were so many things that statement could apply to. Zack was not about to try to decipher it. He made a soft noise in the back of his throat and once he knew Leon was again sleeping, left the room.

--0—0—

When Leon opened his eyes again, they felt sticky and his vision was a bit blurry. Sensing another presence, he glanced to the side. He hazily saw a woman with dark hair and for a mere second, he thought it was Rinoa.

His heart lurched and he had began reaching out when his eyes cleared. Then he saw who it really was. His hand dropped and he blew out a shallow breath. This had to stop.

"Did you think I was someone else?" Aerith asked softly.

"For a second there, yeah;" He quietly admitted. "I've been thinking about her a lot lately."

"I'm not surprised." The woman leaned over to brush his bangs from his face. "You should be feeling much better now."

"Not really," He muttered, not realizing that she was referring to his physical health.

Aerith frowned, understanding what Leon meant. "This is a choice only you can make, Leon. You need to decide whether you want to let Squall live or leave him to die. Either way, there will be pain. You have the choice of how much and for how long."

Leon nodded numbly, actually understanding what she meant.

"Now," She continued brightly. "I think one more dose of that miracle broth of Sora's mothers and you should be able to at least get out of bed by the afternoon."

"Good." Leon sat up and Aerith automatically repositioned his pillows to keep him upright. "Thank you."

She smiled and cupped his face affectionately before moving away. At the door, she paused. "Oh! Was there anything specific that needed to be done today? Zack and Riku are running things in your absence."

"Nothing that they wouldn't already know of."

"All right;" She left the room.

Leon sighed with a cough. Leaning his head back, he thought over Zack's words from the night before. Though some of the conversation was hazy, he remembered the majority of it. Zack had loved Cloud and had been pained that Cloud had emotionally died with him. He truly was happy knowing that the blonde had moved on and began loving again.

Rinoa would want the same thing for him. He knew this in his heart and he realized that he had been using her as an excuse. He was the one afraid to move forward, to open his heart again. _He_ did not want to risk going through the pain of loss again.

Only he could not deny how much he enjoyed Zack's company or how wonderful it felt knowing that the man would be there whenever he wanted him to be. He even found comfort in the knowledge that Zack would likely remain even during those times he was being a stoic bitch. He _wanted_ that attention, that devotion.

In addition, he hated seeing the raven-haired man anything but his vibrant self. Every time he saw that concerned looked on his face, his heart twisted and he simply wanted to take the man in his arms and promise him anything that would make him happy. He did not want to be away from him.

And weren't all of those things worth the potential risk?

There was a single tap on the door before Sora ducked in, large mug in his hand. He did not bother shutting the door behind him. "Hey, Leon; You look a whole lot better."

Leon shrugged, still somewhat lost in his thoughts. With Sora's added presence, his mind went back to only a few months ago. When he had started forming a more physical relationship with the young man, he had accepted that he felt for him and that had not scared him nearly as much as it did with Zack.

He had quickly realized that his feelings for Sora were not as they seemed…. With Zack, however, there was no doubt. Somehow he knew that his heart was ready to love again and that was mostly to do with Sora. Maybe he could help Leon's mind realize this, too.

Sora bit his lip. He really hoped that Leon figured things out soon. He set the mug down on the nightstand and turned to leave.

"Hey, Sora?"

He stopped. "Yeah?"

"Sit for a minute."

--0—0—

"I don't know how you people do this day after day." Zack straightened his back with a groan. "I'm freakin' too old for this."

"You can't be any older than me." Kenshin smiled.

"Well maybe not physically." The SOLDIER muttered, reaching for another strip of molding.

"That depends on how you track it." The shorter redhead agreed in an odd tone; "Looks like this piece is going to be too long."

"Yeah; I'm noticing that." Zack blew out a breath. "I've officially decided I hate this as much as Spiky hates painting."

Kenshin chuckled. "I can do this on my own, go find something else."

"Naw." Zack rubbed the back of his neck. "I'd just get in the way anywhere else and I kinda don't want to work alone."

The other man gave him a sidelong look. After a moment, he spoke quietly. "It isn't my business, that I know, but from the little bit I've picked up on, you're doing the right thing with Leon. He has to make the decision of what he wants and while everyone is giving him the space to do so, none of you are letting him not make that decision."

Zack turned to look at him. The scarred man, while somewhat quiet, had proven to be quite intelligent and very wise. Zack had overheard Kenshin dispensing advice as well as words of encouragement several times and it was always sound.

He gave him a tight grin. "Thanks, Kenshin."

The other nodded.

"Hope I'm not ruining a moment." Cloud's amused voice came from the doorway.

"You are _always_ killing the mood, Spike."

"Is that the trim Riku picked?" The blonde frowned.

"Yeah, why…? Don't like it?"

Cloud shrugged though that odd look did not leave his face. "If it's what he wants."

Kenshin laughed. "You sound exactly like I do when Kaoru gets on one of her decorating rants. Welcome to being married."

The blonde's face twisted into an awkward smile. He held out two scraps of paper to Zack. "Here."

"What's this?" The raven-haired man took them. They turned out to be paint swatches. "Oh, finally; what rooms are these for?"

"Just the kitchen," Cloud pointed to the pale yellow one. "This is the main color and the darker one is to accent the wall with the sink and all that."

"Riku pick these out also?" Kenshin stood and took the scraps.

"It's his kitchen. I'm liable to burn the place down if I so much as look at the stove." Cloud folded his arms. "I get the study, den and hall. He's doing the kitchen, bathroom and front room."

"Sharing the bedroom?" Zack smirked.

"Absolutely."

"Do you want to get started on this?" Kenshin asked. "I can mix the colors up."

"Sure. We can handle painting." Zack grinned at Cloud's sour look. "We'll start after lunch."

"You just want to check on Leon." The blonde snorted.

"And your point is?" Zack stood and headed for the door. "Come on, Spiky. I'm buying."

The walk across town was quiet but comfortably so. When they reached the marketplace, they spotted Sora sitting in the noodle shop with a blonde man. Zack glanced over, one black eyebrow raised in inquiry.

Cloud narrowed his eyes a bit. "I think that's the new guy."

"Leon's friend?"

"Yeah." The blonde confirmed. "Want to meet him?"

"Have you?"

"No."

"Sure." Zack shrugged. "Ramen sounds good."

They entered the small shop, which was rather full at this time of day. Sora immediately saw them and called them over. They picked their way through the seated crowd as Sora stood and swiped a fourth chair from a nearby table.

"Hey." Sora greeted brightly. "You guys haven't met Zell yet, have you?"

"Nope," Zack stated easily though there was a subtle tightness to his expression that Cloud figured only he noticed.

"Well, this is Zell." The teen motioned to the blonde man sitting casually across from him. His hair was short with an up shooting of bangs in the front and there was a rather elaborate tattoo along his left eye. The man had an easy smile on his face.

Sora shifted his hand toward the other two. "This is Zack and Cloud."

Zell grinned almost as easily as Zack normally did. He stood and shook Zack's hand, giving him a speculative look. "Sora doesn't know how to shut up about you."

"Hey! You asked!"

"Sora likes to talk." Zack smirked. "Never thought I'd met someone worse than me but here he is."

Zell released his hand with a faint shrug. "He's a cool kid."

"I'm still here, ya know!"

"Quiet, Sora." Zack patted Sora's arm. "The big boys are talking now."

The seventeen-year-old scowled at Zack then stood up. "I'm refilling my drink. What do you two want to eat?"

"I'll come with you." Cloud offered, turning to follow the boy.

Zack glanced over his shoulder at the two's retreating forms, a slightly nervous feeling coming to him. He sat in one of the chairs, resting his elbow on the back so that he faced the other. "So what terrible things has the kid said about me?"

"The kid seems to worship you." Zell chuckled. "Almost as much as he does Squall." The blonde frowned a bit. "Or Leon now. I am not going to get used to that."

"So call him by his real name." Zack shrugged. "It'll be good for him."

Zell studied him for a moment. He smiled broadly and popped a small dumpling in his mouth. "Squall is a hard person to love."

"I've noticed," The ex-SOLDIER commented dryly. "So he's always been removed, huh?"

"Yeah, though from what Sora's said his worse now than he ever was. Squall's always kept himself a safe distance from people." Zell took a drink from his soda. "He once said that everyone goes away in the end so why get close in the first place. He got a whole lot better after the whole Ultimicea thing."

Zack traced the table top. "Until he lost Rinoa."

"Yeah, so I hear." Zell set his glass down. "Rinoa was a great girl and she changed Squall a lot. She taught him to be open and to not fear what might happen. That life was empty without the people who love you."

The blonde man watched Zack carefully. "If you really care for Squall, don't let up on him."

Zack met his eyes easily. "Oh, I never give up."

"Neither did Rinoa." The SeeD snickered. "Even when she was with the jerk, she didn't give up on Squall."

"What jerk?" Sora asked, returning with Cloud and a tray of food. He settled into his seat as Cloud rounded the table to the only empty chair. Cloud handed over a bowl of beef ramen to Zack.

"Seifer."

"Oh." Sora sipped on his drink. "You know, I think it has something to do with the name. There was a Seifer on Twilight Town who was a total jerk. He liked to bully everyone but was really pathetic. He had these two idiots that followed him everywhere."

"So did ours." Zell laughed.

"I think Leon's gonna be really happy to see you, Zell." Sora announced, breaking up the brief pause in conversation. "A lot of his problem is that he thinks he's the only one who made it off your world. Once he sees there are others, a lot of his guilt will go away."

Zack lifted his glass in a mock salute. "Here's hoping, at least."

Zell laughed. "I like you, Zack. I can see why Squall would, too."

"Everyone likes Zack," Cloud muttered, bringing a small mess of noodles to his mouth.

"It's all part of my charm, Spiky."

Zell bit into another dumpling, glancing between them. He caught Sora's eye. "You're right about these two."

Sora grinned widely. "I told you I was a good judge of character."

"What did he say about us?" Zack demanded.

Zell finished his dumpling and took another drink. "You know what this world needs? Hot dogs."

Zack scrunched up his face, chopsticks half-way to his mouth. "Hot dogs?"

"Yeah, you know, they're like sausages only a lot smaller and _way_ better," Zell explained then suddenly gaped. "You've seriously have never heard of them?"

Both Zack and Cloud shook their heads.

"Damn." The tattooed one lightly cursed. "We have got to introduce these people to those, Sora."

"Hey, we should go talk to Scrooge and if we can make them, we could open a hot dog stand!" Sora spoke animatedly. "That would be awesome!"

"Yeah." Zell agreed. "That would be cool."

Zack and Cloud exchanged looks but said nothing. They continued eating as Sora and Zell ran through elaborate ideas for opening their newly decided business venture. Neither really cared about what they were rambling on about.

The older of the two found his thoughts wandering to how Leon was doing. He had seemed much better this morning when he left him and he knew Aerith would have something that would speed up his recovery even further. Knowing Leon, he was probably already trying to get up and leave.

Zack blinked when he realized he had been asked a question. "Huh?"

Sora laughed once. "I said I was going to go visit Leon. Do you want to come with?"

"Sure." The raven-haired man pushed his bowl away. "Spiky and I are going to start painting his and Riku's house this afternoon."

"Really?" The teen looked at Cloud. "Great. Riku's gonna be thrilled."

"Yeah, he's starting to get anxious." The blonde gave a small smile. "I'm beginning to think he really wants to marry me."

Sora shook his head with an amused expression. He stood and addressed the other blonde. "Reno has some papers for you at Tifa's bar. Do you remember where that is?"

"Uh… I think so."

"I'll run him down there." Cloud finished off his water and stood also. "We can meet up in an hour at the house."

"Sounds good." Zack nodded.

The spiky-haired swordsman stood also and looked at the brunette. "If you think he's up to it, I suggest you start introducing the idea of Zell being here to Leon. The sooner we get that dealt with, the better _I'm_ going to feel."

"Yeah, I'd like to see him." Zell agreed.

"Okay," Sora bit his lip. He had no idea how he was going to go about it but they really did need to tell Leon about Zell. He began to leave the table, followed by Zack. "So met up in an hour?"

"Yes."

"All right."


	15. Chapter 15

Kinda short one here.

Rewritten Oct 14

* * *

Zack was rather quiet as they walked to the house. It was not a brooding quiet or even an anxious one. He simply kept himself relaxed.

Sora noted this attitude and found it rather admirable. He knew the man was hurting and yet he was moving forward. He did not try to hide it or deny it; he simply dealt with it as necessary.

"Think Leon's trying to convince Aerith to let him at least check up on everything?" The teen asked idly, hands thrown behind his head.

"Of course," Zack laughed. "He wouldn't be our Leon if he wasn't."

Sora glanced over. "You really do love him, don't you?"

The other shrugged. "So it seems."

"That really makes me happy and I know once Leon's over his stupid issues, I think the two of you are going to be really close."

"Oh, yeah?" Zack raised an eyebrow.

"Yep; I know these things."

The former SOLDIER laughed. "Well, kid, if you're right I'll teach you some of the secrets of my success."

"Really…? Awesome!"

They walked up to the house, Sora a couple of steps ahead. He threw a smile back at Zack and opened the door. He strolled in with Zack on his heels.

Leon was lying on the sofa, a blanket covering his legs and a notebook in his lap. He was intently writing something and he barely glanced at Sora before locking his gaze on Zack. The pen slowly stopped moving.

Zack grinned easily at him. "Hey, whatcha writing?"

"Nothing important;" He closed the notebook and set it on the coffee table. "Checking up to make sure I'm following orders?"

"Yep!" Sora took the empty mug from the table and headed for the kitchen.

Once he was out of view, Zack sat on the table. Leon raised an eyebrow at him but did not comment on the man's placement. Zack would not care if Leon had said that he wanted him off of his table.

"You look better." The black-haired man noted easily, fingers laced before him.

"I feel better." Leon leaned back against the armrest. "A little weak and tired but I don't need to be coddled any more."

Zack shrugged. "Hey, it's not my call. Until Aerith clears you for active duty, you're stuck."

"If I didn't know better I'd say you like seeing me laid up."

Zack grinned wickedly. "You do know you just left yourself wide open."

Leon smirked right back.

The two gazed at each other for a long moment. Zack reached out and moved some of Leon's bangs from his face. Leon placed his own hand around Zack's and held it in place.

The moment broke as Sora returned. He clearly realized he had interrupted something for he grinned sheepishly at them as he set the fresh glass of juice beside Zack on the table. "Sorry. I'll get out of here."

"Don't worry about it." Leon released Zack's hand and picked up the glass. "Both of you are supposed to be covering for me out there anyway."

"We have been." Sora confirmed. He was watching the man carefully. "How _are_ you feeling?"

Grey eyes narrowed. "What's wrong?"

"Way to freak him out, Sor." Zack rolled his eyes. He focused on Leon. "Nothing's wrong. He's trying to judge you're mental status."

"For what?"

Sora glanced at Zack, clearly begging the man to take over with this. The older man sighed, shaking his head. "Why is it always me?"

Leon was quickly getting annoyed. "What?"

Zack fixed his eyes on the man who had somehow become precious to him. In a soft voice, he explained. "One of the new guys is a blonde man with a tattoo surrounding his left eye."

Recognition lit Leon's eyes, followed immediately by disbelief. Cautiously, he muttered. "It can't be."

"He says his name is Zell Dincht," Zack continued. "He's lookin' for a guy named Squall from Balamb Garden."

Leon fell back against the cushions, staring at the ceiling. He was silent for a long time. When he lifted his head again, his eyes were shining. "He's… he's really here?"

"So it seems." The raven-haired one confirmed. "He and Sora wanna open a hot dog stand."

Sora looked affronted and was about to say something when a loud, somewhat broken laugh drew his attention. He glanced at Leon, who was torn between laughing and crying. He was obviously overwhelmed by this information.

The ex-SeeD struggled to maintain some kind of composure. This was all too much for him. Things lately had simply been piling up on him and he was about ready to break. "When it rains, it pours."

Zack flicked his eyes toward Sora. He caught the boy's eye and nudged his head. Sora understood what he wanted and nodded. He turned and left through the front door, leaving Zack and Leon alone.

The older man watched Leon as he turned to stare out the window. He gave him a minute before softly asking, "Are you all right?"

Leon shrugged a little with a weak chuckle. "I no longer know what _all right_ is. Everything is just happening way too fast."

"I understand."

"No, you don't," Leon countered without aggression. "I'm sure you have an idea, but you don't know what I'm feeling right now."

Zack kept quiet, waiting to allow Leon control of the situation. The man needed to know that things were in fact not out of his control. Zack doubted Leon realized just how much power he held over his environment.

"I never expected any of this to happen. The past week has been so unreal."

"Yep."

Leon looked at Zack, something warm in his eyes. "I'm glad I met you, Zack."

A black eyebrow rose inquisitively.

Leon, however, did not explain further. "Can you bring Zell here?"

"Now?"

"Yeah." Leon nodded. "I can't go anywhere and I want to see him."

The First Class shrugged getting to his feet and moving toward the door. Leon abruptly took his hand. When he looked down, grey eyes gazed into his easily. "Thanks."

Leon released him and Zack slipped out the door. Sora sat on the porch railing, glancing up when he heard the door. Once it shut, he gave Zack an intense look; "So?"

"He wants to see Zell." The older man stepped forward and down the stairs.

Sora swung his legs around and hopped off the rail, standing beside Zack. "That's good."

"Definitely," Zack agreed. "Maybe after they have a chance to reconnect…"

Sora grinned. He knew exactly what the man was thinking and he certainly hoped for the same thing. "They'll probably still be at Tifa's."

Zell was in fact still at the bar when they arrived. …As were Reno and Rude. The red-haired Turk's cigarette fell from his dropped jaw when he saw Zack. Rude actually pulled off his sunglasses.

The former SOLDIER grinned and waved. "Yo."

"Well now I've fucking seen everything!" shouted Reno. "If Rufus shows up, I'm done, yo."

"Oh, same here," seconded Zack. He walked up to the bar where they all sat, hitting the thin Turk's back as he passed. "I should have known the two of you would make it through."

Reno snickered. "Just can't get rid of us."

Zack settled himself on a stool beside Zell. Sora had hung back near the door. "Well, guess who wants to spend some quality time with an old friend?"

The blonde man laughed. "You just flat out told him, huh?"

"I figured it was the best way to do it."

"With Squall? Yeah, he really hates when people shy away from things. You've got him figured out pretty well." Zell threw back the rest of his drink before turning toward the pair of Turks on his other side. "Got anything else for me?"

"Nope." Reno started up a new cigarette.

"Okay." He collected the stack of papers before him and hopped off his seat. "Let's go see Squall."

"I'm gonna stay here." Zack nodded toward the door. "Sora can take you over."

The blonde seriously regarded Zack. Then he turned toward the awaiting teenager. "All right, kid; Let's go."

The moment they were out of sight, Reno was on Zack. "And what was that about?"

"Nothing involving you." Zack left the barstool to wander behind the bar itself. The place was open but empty and there was no sign of Tifa. He looked over several bottles. "Where does Tifa keep the beer?"

"Turn and look down," Reno answered, keeping a close eye on the other man. After Zack had located the desired beverage, he popped the top and downed nearly a quarter of the bottle in one drink. Reno grinned. "What is it with you and the fucked up ones?"

Zack sighed, "I don't know."

"You do manage to bag the lookers though." Reno chuckled. "I always hated that about you, Fair."

"It's a gift."

The redhead watched Zack hop over the bar to return to his seat. "How'd Mini-roth handle your sudden appearance?"

"Exactly as one would expect an eighteen-year-old kid with security issues to react," Zack grinned. "I've honestly never seen Cloud so happy."

"Yeah, I was floored when I heard they were getting' hitched, yo."

"Oh, believe me that was a bit of a shock." Actually, it had been more than that and Zack knew that Reno recognized it. Thankfully, he moved on.

"What amazes me is how much Sephiroth has changed. I mean, he was all right before the whole mommy thing I guess, but now he's almost _human_." Reno shook his head.

"Definitely not the old days." Rude noted.

"Nope." Zack took another long drink.

"So, what's the deal with you and Leonhart? You two just shacking up or there more to it, yo?"

He did not bother to wonder how the Turk knew about that already; "As of now, neither."

"Huh," Reno pursed his lips for a moment. He then changed the subject and hit Rude's arm. "Tifa tell you she hooked up with this lug?"

Zack leaned back to see the almost embarrassed smile on the quiet man's face. "Nice. She's a hot little number."

"You have no idea," The bald man muttered.

Laughing, Zack returned to his bottle. "So give me the real rundown, guys. I know you know everything, and I haven't had a chance to really hear everything that's happened in the past few years."

--0—0—

Leon had his notebook back open and was writing again when the door opened. Sora poked his head in with a large grin. "You ready for this?"

Before he could even contemplate an answer, the door was pushed further open and one of Leon's few childhood friends barged right in. "Hey, he wanted to see me, remember?"

Zell grinned widely at him, looking for all the worlds like he wanted to hug him. "Hey there, Squall."

Leon felt no need to correct the man, his own smile tugging at his lips. "Hey, Zell."

"Nice little town you've made for yourself," The blonde commented, squatting before the coffee table. "Anyone try making you mayor, yet?"

Sora snorted. "He might as well be."

"The last thing I need is that." Leon coughed once.

Sora immediately took the empty glass from the table and refilled it. He came back into the front room, set it down and backed away. Deciding he was not needed, he moved toward the door. "I'm gonna check up on things with Riku and Cloud."

"See ya." Zell waved as Leon nodded.

The teen departed and headed for across town. He felt a whole lot better than he had in days. Finally, it looked like things were moving in the right direction.


	16. Chapter 16

Rewritten Oct 21

* * *

Zack entered the house, the smell of paint greeting him as he walked in. He headed for the kitchen and blinked in surprise. "You actually started without me?"

Cloud shrugged.

The First Class chuckled, shaking his head. "I haven't said this yet but you better be inviting me to the wedding."

Cloud gave him a hint of a smile. "I assumed you would assume you already were."

"Well, ya know… Riku might not like having your ex at your wedding."

"You planning to contest our marriage and steal me away?"

"No."

"Then he'll be thrilled to have you there." He returned his attention to the wall he was working on. "How's Leon?"

Zack picked up another roll of tape and began on the other end of the countertop. "He's talking to Zell."

"Good. I knew he would be fine."

"Well, I had to talk him down from a near-panic attack but he asked to see Zell." The black-haired one tore the tape. "We'll just have to wait and see what comes of it."

Cloud glanced at him. "You really want this to work."

"I want Leon to be happy; that's all that matters." Zack turned toward the paint cans. "That's all I want for everyone I love, even you."

Cloud stopped what he was doing and sat on the counter. He laced his fingers before him. "You know, I was talking to Tifa the other day and she commented that it seemed rather odd that I was completely fine with you and Leon's relationship, more so that I was endorsing it."

Zack angled his head. "Why?"

"She's worried that your feelings for Leon are a displacement for any lingering feelings you have toward me."

Zack faced his ex-lover. "I worried about that at first, too. Leon is similar to you in a lot of ways but overall, he's completely different. Maybe those few things the two of you have in common are what initially drew me to him but that's not why I fell in love with him."

The blonde laughed. "That's exactly what I told her."

Zack leaned against the far counter, wondering exactly where this little conversation was leading. It was nice to know that Cloud fully supported any potential long-term relationship that might occur, but why did he feel it necessary to bring this up now?

"Squall loves you," Cloud stated emphatically. "And since you got here, it's been _Squall_ that we've been seeing."

Zack snorted. "You make it sound like he has a split personality."

"It's not a split personality but he had created a new one," clarified Cloud. "Or rather, that was his goal when he adopted the name Leon. It was always clear to the others that it was an act, especially with how quickly they were able to get him to tell them his real name. That's why Yuffie is always calling him Squall."

The elder of the pair nodded. He was beginning to see where Cloud was going with this. "So what do all of you think of Squall?"

Cloud laughed once. "I like him just as much as I liked Leon."

"So you hate him."

"Completely."

Zack smiled as Cloud looked at him. "So once he realizes that he's been acting like himself and drops the Leon thing you think everything will work out."

"Yeah, and both Sora and Riku agree that after he has his little chat with Zell, we're all really going to see some changes." Cloud shrugged, turning back to the wall. "And those two know these things at least as well as Aerith does."

Zack folded his arms. "What exactly is the deal between those two? They are like… abnormally close."

"They're two halves of a whole." The blonde replied simply. "Quite honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if when one dies, the other followed."

"Really...?"

"I pray every day that I'll never find out if that's true. I don't think I could handle losing someone I love again."

The emotion behind the casual statement made Zack frown a bit. He did not want to ask what had brought this on, so he did what he did best. "Aww… I love you too, Spike."

"Damn, I interrupted a moment again." Riku snapped his fingers from the entryway. "One of these days, I'll catch the two of you."

Abruptly, he noticed what they were doing. His eyes lit up and he stared at Cloud. "You're painting?"

"Yeah." Cloud did not look at him but the amusement was clear in his voice. "And Kenshin has all the trim cut and ready to go."

"And after that…?"

"All that's left is the painting and finishing." The blonde picked at a bit of stray caulk at the corner of the counter. "Then it's ready for occupancy."

Riku had the largest smile on his face that either Cloud or Zack had seen. "I can't believe our house is almost done."

"Well, Leon did put a rush order on it," Zack noted. "Not that I blame him for wanting you out of his house before you're hitched."

Riku wandered over to Zack and the open paint can. "So what do you think of the colors?"

"You know, there have been studies done confirming the color yellow causes aggression in young children," The raven-haired man commented.

"So you don't like it."

"Hey, it's not my place, so who the hell cares?" Zack shrugged. "Actually, it's not a bad shade. I normally can't stand anything yellow but this is more of a cream color."

"I thought Sora was coming back to help us." Cloud walked up behind Riku, wrapping his arms around his fiancé's waist. He watched Zack pour some paint into a smaller container.

"Yeah, he was." Riku laughed. "Then he realized he only had two hours before his date."

Both Zack and Cloud snickered. The elder of the two stopped pouring. "Wow, has he ever, like, been on a _real _date?"

"Nope."

Zack angled his head toward them, an almost pitying look to his face. "Oh, we should go help him. He's probably completely freaking out."

"Oh, he's fine." Riku waved the idea off. "Even if we did, he'd still be freaking out."

"Besides, you're the only one here who actually _has_ dated," Cloud added. He frowned a bit at his lover. "That makes us sound pathetic, doesn't it?"

"It makes _you_ sound pathetic." Riku countered, grinning. "I'm still a teenager."

The blonde narrowed his eyes at Riku, who merely laughed. "Hey, you ever want to go out on a real date, I'm all for it."

"Aw, how cute!" squealed Zack. He ignored the twin glares he received. "I'm serious, though. We should make sure Sora's all right. The first date can be a really big deal. If it goes bad, it can turn him off on the whole thing completely."

"If we all go barging in, it's just going to stress him out more," noted Cloud.

Riku's phone ringing interrupted the conversation. He gave a light laugh. "Speaking of the boy…"

He pulled out the phone and answered with amusement in his voice. "Hey, Sora… Yeah, we guessed that… Do you want us to help…? Why Zack…? Oh, so now you don't trust me, huh? ...No, no, fine I understand. I'll just send _Zack_ over because, apparently, your best friend isn't skilled enough to help you get ready for a date."

Zack arched a black eyebrow. He could not tell if Riku was truly upset or not. As the conversation had gone on, his tone had steadily changed.

Riku closed the phone and turned toward the counter. "Sora wants your assistance, Zack."

"I got that," he replied, exchanging a quick look with Cloud. The blonde nodded having come to the same conclusion as Zack.

The First Class stepped forward and closed up the paint. "Come on, we're all going to torment the kid."

"Zack-" Riku started but was cut off.

"Naught uh; we're all going and that's final."

--0—0—

The three friends walked into the house, and were greeted by an unusual sight. Zell was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, and had obviously been telling a rather animated story. Leon was also cross-legged on the sofa, facing Zell.

…And he was laughing. Not an amused chuckle but a genuine, full laugh.

They paused near the door, absorbing this as Leon rather quickly sobered up but the mirth in his eyes did not go away. He glanced at Zack for a long moment before turning back to Zell.

The blonde dropped his hands in his lap. "They totally killed our buzz, man."

Leon smirked; "Cloud's good for that."

"Got that right," snorted Zack.

Cloud stared at both of them. He sighed in exasperation and walked toward the stairs. "The two of you were made for one another."

Riku followed him. "You coming with us, Zack, or should we tell Sora you've got better things to do?"

Zack and Leon eyed one another for a moment. The other three in the room watched them curiously, waiting to see what would happen. Leon was certainly acting differently.

The younger man's lip turned up. "The way Sora was panicking when he came in here, I think he's going to need all the help he can get."

Zack smiled and slowly looked away, moving after Cloud and Riku. "Yeah, I figured that."

He followed the couple to Leon's bedroom. They did not bother knocking or announcing their presence. Riku threw open the door and strode in, the older men flanking him.

Sora looked over, momentarily surprised before sighing in relief. Then he started panicking again. "Oh, man, guys, I can't do this."

"Yes, you can," Riku assured him. He went over to Sora's thrown out bags on the bed. The younger teen's clothes were tossed about, obviously gone through at least five times. "Wow, Sor, have you found _anything_ you like?"

"Well," The brunette picked up a plain blue shirt. "I kinda wanted to wear this but I don't have anything to go with it that isn't, like, you know…"

"It doesn't scream _sexy guy_?" Zack smirked, joining the two at the bed. He took the shirt from Sora and held it up. "Too bad you're not the right shape for Leon's leather. That would look really hot with this."

"Yeah, it would," agreed Riku.

At the statement, Cloud suddenly left the room. Zack quirked a black eyebrow and Riku shrugged. They turned back to the task at hand, trying to put together something date-worthy. A few minutes later, Cloud returned and tossed something black at Sora. "Here."

The teen caught it and stared in shock. Zack smirked, recognizing the slightly oily material. As soon as Riku realized what they were, he whirled on his lover. "Why the hell have I never seen those before?"

The blonde shrugged. "I've only worn them once. I don't know how Leon can wear them day after day. They're uncomfortable as hell."

"But they look dead sexy." Zack grinned.

"Especially on Leon," Riku commented under his breath. Of course, everyone heard him.

Zack punched the silvered one's shoulder. "You're not supposed to be checking out other men."

"Oh, please." Riku waved it off. "You should hear some of the things Cloud has said about Leon."

The blonde narrowed his eyes. "And you haven't been gushing on about Zack like a crushing teenager."

"I'm not denying it." The teen ran his fingers through Zack's lengthy black locks. He grinned at the man for a second before returning to Sora. "Well, put 'em on."

Sora bit his lip, glancing between Zack and Cloud. In a rather shy manner he removed his baggy shorts, revealing his loose boxers. He looked uncertainly at the leather pants. "These aren't going to be tight, are they?"

"They're more relaxed than what Leon wears." Cloud assured him. "And since you're a bit smaller than me, you'll be fine."

The younger teen looked greatly relieved. "Okay. I know Leon doesn't usually wear…"

Zack snorted. "In his pants, there's no room. Not that you'll ever hear me complain."

There was a strange general agreement. Sora pulled on the leather, a small grin tugging on his features as he buttoned them up. He moved around a bit, working the material into a comfortable position.

"Those fit rather well." Riku ran an appraising eye over his friend. "They're a touch too big but it's not overly noticeable."

Sora nodded, tugging off his shirt to put on the blue one. Zack whistled lowly. "Damn, kid, for a small guy you got some muscle to you."

"I am the Keyblade Master." Sora rolled his eyes. "And you need to take a freakin' look at Riku's body sometime."

"No, he doesn't." Cloud countered.

Once Sora had his clothing in place and Riku had adjusted it accordingly, Zack glanced toward Cloud. "You want to tackle his hair or should I?"

"I provided the pants."

"True," conceded the older man. He pushed at Sora's shoulder and herded him toward the door. "All right, let's see what I can do with this mess of spikes."

--0—0—

Leon had kept his eyes on the stairs for a few seconds even after Zack had disappeared from view.

"Wow."

The sable-haired man turned to face Zell. The blonde's head was tilted thoughtfully and there was a somewhat surprised look to his face. "What?"

"You are really hung up on that guy." Zell stated with absolute certainty. "You used to give Rinoa that same lingering look when you were desperately trying to deny what you were feeling."

Leon gave him a weak glare.

Zell threw his head back and laughed. "…And you gave the exact same glare when any of us called you on it! You _love_ this guy."

Leon fell back on the sofa. "Is it really that obvious?"

"To any one who knows you, yeah." Zell grinned broadly. "…And I know you, Squall."

Leon released a slow breath. "I really have been a damn idiot. I spent all that time and effort trying to be someone else, trying to remain detached and I became exactly who I used to be. All I did was undo everything Rinoa had managed to accomplish."

"Sora told me what happened to Rinoa and where you were when it happened." The blonde rested his chin on his folded hands. "That sucks, man."

"It still hurts. It probably always will." Steel-colored eyes stared at the ceiling. "…But I can't use that pain as an excuse. I can't keep denying myself of joy because of guilt."

"Sounds to me like you've made up your mind."

Leon turned his head. "You know, you've only been here for a few hours and I'm already tired of you."

Zell gave an indignant scoff. "Oh? …And who would you rather have, Irvine? We both know what he would do if he heard about this."

"I'd kill him first," grinned Leon.

"Kill who?" Cloud came down the stairs followed by Riku.

"An old friend of ours." Zell answered, leaning his head back to look at the couple. "Where's the other two?"

"Zack's working on Sora's hair." Cloud turned off into the kitchen as Riku took a seat near Zell.

The teen chuckled. "Wait till you see him."

"Yeah, I'm a miracle worker." Zack declared from the stairway, pausing as Cloud passed him with a bottle of water. "Cloud's hair is still more difficult to deal with but it's a near thing."

The raven-haired man glanced behind himself. "Well?"

"You're in the way."

"Right," stated Zack dryly, stepping to the side.

Sora appeared, shyly biting his lower lip. His cinnamon hair's spikes had been smoothed out and flattened back with a few hanging before his face. It made him appear a bit older than he was.

Leon sat up and looked over the teen critically. "Are those Cloud's leathers?"

"Yeah, they said they looked good with the shirt."

"They do." Leon half-smiled. "You look great. If I wasn't with someone already, I'd be all over you."

Sora grinned widely and by the quick glance he threw toward Zack, it was more due to Leon's words than the compliment. The brunette was not the only one who had heard what the man said. Riku and Cloud shared rather pleased looks as Zell leaned back on his hands in amusement.

Zack was simply staring at Leon who was gazing right back.

"So, uh, I guess I should go, huh?" Sora moved away from the stairs. "Wouldn't want to be late on the first date."

"That would be bad." Zell agreed, leaping to his feet. "I think I'm gonna find some food. I need to get myself familiar with the town."

"We'll come with." Cloud held his hand out for Riku.

The four left the house, pausing at the foot of the porch steps. Sora gave them a nervous smile before heading for the other side of town. Riku, Cloud, and Zell began walking in the opposite direction.

None of them could wait to see what was going to happen later that night.


	17. Chapter 17

Here's the end for you all. Please let me know what you thought!

Thank you for reading.

Rewritten Oct 25.

* * *

Zack watched Leon for a long moment. He was unable to let himself believe the other man's words. Did he really mean…?

Leon held out his hand. "Come here."

Zack's feet were moving before he told them to. He crossed the room and he sat on the coffee table just before the sable-haired man. Blue-gray eyes studied him intently as Leon took hold of Zack's hand.

Leon slowly drew his gaze away to look down at their clasped hands. "That first time I saw you, my very first thought was you had amazing eyes."

"They do seem to catch people's attention."

"You catch people's attention." Leon countered softly. "When I look at you, I'm afraid to look away because I might miss something. I don't want to miss you."

Zack did not know how to react to that. It amazed him how easily Leon rendered him speechless, especially considering how little he spoke. No one in his life before this had that ability.

The former SeeD returned his eyes to Zack's unnaturally bright ones. "I'm sorry for what I've been putting you through."

"Well you should be."

Leon narrowed his eyes for a moment before blowing out a breath. The corner of his lip curled up. "You are an arrogant bastard, you know that right?"

"Sephiroth has made that comment a few times but I never really believed him." Zack grinned slyly.

With a slight shake of his head, Leon continued. "I'm no good with any of this… talking about my emotions. I never have been but I want to try to…"

Zack could not help but laugh. He scooted to the edge of the table and leaned forward. Now their knees were touching and violet-colored eyes fixed themselves upon steel blue.

"I'm going to make this really easy for you, Leon," declared Zack with absolute sincerity, taking hold of both of Leon's hands. "All you have to say is one little word: yes or no."

…And with that simple sentence, everything was laid out on the table. Zack willed himself to remain relaxed, telling himself that no matter what Leon's next word was, he would accept it and move on. He realized it was going to hurt like hell for a while, but he would eventually get over it. That was just the kind of guy he was.

It was not as if he had gone into this wanting a long time relationship anyway.

Leon was searching his eyes carefully, his own expression guarded. He was nervous and still uncertain but no longer afraid. He allowed himself a faint smile and there was no hesitation in his low voice. "Yes."

Zack felt infinitely lighter at that word and his heart lifted. His only visible reaction was the slight angling of his head and a large smirk. "I knew you couldn't resist me."

Leon kicked out a bare foot. The faint smile increased; "Bastard."

"Keep talking like that and I might begin to think you actually like me."

Leon snorted softly. He again looked at their held hands. "I can't promise you that this is going to last. I know I still have a lot of things I need to deal with and honestly, I don't know…"

Squeezing his hands, Zack released one and reached over to brush at Leon's hair. Leon met his gaze once more and the older one looked at him sincerely. "I don't know how this is going to work either. All I know is that I want to be with you. As far as I'm concerned, we make it up as we go."

Leon nodded. "That works for me."

Zack leaned forward, capturing Leon's lips in what was meant to be a brief kiss. Leon, however, tugged him closer. The raven-haired man half-stood, leaving the table and sitting beside Leon…Their mouths never parted.

Leon placed his free hand on Zack's thigh, Zack's hand pressed to the side of the other man's face. The other hands were still clasped tightly and they remained like that even after the kiss ended.

Zack smirked lightly, their faces still close. "So do we go find the others and ease their troubled little minds or do we take this upstairs and make them wait?"

"As much as I want to do the second," Leon shifted his hand further up Zack's leg and squeezed, earning a hiss from the other man. "I really want to get out of this house."

Zack nodded in complete understanding, pressing another lingering kiss to Leon's lips. "So let's go for a walk."

He stood, pulling Leon up with him. The sable-haired man went to retrieve his boots from his room, Zack watching him climb the stairs intently. He bit his lip and resisted the urge to follow Leon and corner him in the bedroom.

Leon returned, boots in hand. He sat at the dining table to pull them and he flicked his eyes up to look at Zack. "How do you think Sora's date is going?"

"Well," Zack folded his arms thoughtfully. "I hope for the kid well…Though it'd be funny as hell if he somehow managed to completely fuck it up."

The younger man snorted and coughed once, standing up. Zack got up also and the couple met at the door. Their eyes looked for a moment and they simply smiled at each other. Leon opened the door and the pair walked out together.

--0—0—

"…So then Irvine just walks up to the woman, winks at her while tipping his hat to her and casually says, 'I'm sorry, ma'am, Squall just can't appreciate fine beauties such as yourself'." Zell laughed out. "I swear Selphie was going to kick his ass and then let Squall have the follow through."

Riku snickered, bringing his glass to his face. He paused when he saw the heavy wood door of the bar open. "Damn it. Looks like Seph wins."

Zell, Cloud, and Reno looked over, all frowning. Sephiroth simply took a languid drink. Reno turned back in a huff, fishing in his pocket. Cloud tossed some Munny in Sephiroth's direction, as did Riku. Finally, the Turk produced his and scowled as he set it before the former general; "Should've known better than to bet against you, yo."

Zack gave the group an inquisitive look as he and Leon brought chairs up to the table. "What were you betting on?"

"That you and Leon would be fucking for the rest of the night," Riku answered easily, retaking his drink.

Zack snorted, glancing at Leon. He dropped a hand to squeeze the younger man's knee. "That's not all there is to a relationship, Riku."

The teen's jaw dropped in a shocked manner as he stared at Cloud. "You lied to me!"

Cloud sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I'm such a terrible person. I've just been completely taking advantage of you for the past three years."

Zack angled his head. "Wait. Riku's eighteen, right?"

"Barely;" Leon grinned, coughing a bit. "Cloud jumped him the minute he turned sixteen."

"Ah, he jumped me!" Cloud protested.

Zell stared at the couple, clearly disturbed. "Wow, and I thought the pedophile comments were just a mean joke."

"Oh, no." Reno stood, removing the few empty bottles from the table. "Strife is a sick fuck but hey, I probably would have tried hitting that too, yo."

"I really do not need to be hearing all of this," interjected Sephiroth calmly.

"Oh, get used to it, Seph. Spike is about to become your brother-in-law." Zack laughed. "And I'm sure you haven't forgotten me and Cloud's little exploits."

"Both of you still owe me for intercepting that report Lazard wrote exposing your relations."

"I totally forgot about that!" The First Class slapped his hand against the table. "We _so_ would've been court-martialed for that."

Cloud was beginning to look like he wanted to disappear. Riku, however, was listening attentively. "Oh, do tell."

"Tell what?" Reno returned, dropping a beer bottle before Zack and a tall mug in front of Leon. The redhead grinned at him, "From Tifa."

"Did you know Cloud and Zack were together?" Riku leaned forward to look at the Turk.

"I thought everyone did." Reno shrugged. "They were caught making out enough times. The roof seemed to be their favorite place."

"More often than not, if I could not locate Zackary, he was with Cloud up there." Sephiroth agreed, drinking from his own glass.

Zell shook his head in bemusement. "Man, we didn't have anything nearly this entertaining in Garden. It was pretty damn boring."

"Seifer and his buddies were entertaining at times." Leon sipped on the tea he had been given.

"True." The tattooed blonde agreed. "Raj was such an idiot! Do you remember that one time in the cafeteria when he was convinced that coffee maker was possessed because it kept spitting out coffee at him?"

Leon chuckled. "I never did find out who rigged it to do that."

"Oh, it was that small, black-haired kid that Seifer had chosen to single out that month. It turned out he was really gifted with mechanical things."

"Really?"

"Yep; He's also the one who helped Selphie get back at Fuu for stealing her teddy bear."

"Now that was good!" Leon flat-out laughed. "The orange hair was priceless."

It took a moment for him to realize that the others were staring at him. "What?"

Cloud looked stunned. "You laughed."

"Like a real, full laugh." Riku added.

"…And you're smiling, yo." Reno flicked some ash from his cigarette in a tray.

"You all know what that means." Sephiroth quietly noted.

The group groaned, with the exception of Cloud and again began pulling out Munny. They tossed the bills down before the silver-haired man, grumbling. Said man smiled in a surprisingly happy manner as he divided the funds and handed half to Cloud. "Thank you."

Zack snorted. "You took a bet together, huh? It's scary when you two work together."

"It's freakin' great." Riku grinned. He leaned over and kissed Cloud fiercely before turning and hugging his brother around the shoulders. Both men simply took it.

"Hey, what time is it?" Zell asked, looking around.

"Uh, after nine," Reno answered. "Think we're going to be hearing from Sora soon?"

"He said he'd call when it was over." Riku settled back in his seat. "I really hope this date goes well for him. Even if they don't go on another, as long as the date itself goes well, he'll keep trying."

"Oh, he'll be fine." Zack waved, finishing off his beer. "The kid's a lot like me."

"Shiva help him." Leon and Cloud muttered.

"Hey!" Zack turned on the sable-haired one. "I expected that from Cloud but you?"

Leon shrugged and grinned at him. The older man studied him a moment before moving in and rather graphically kissing him. Leon did not resist at all.

"Whoa," Zell turned away, holding a hand up to block the view. "You guys need to get a room."

"Damn, I'm starting to wish I got the Mako shit, yo." Reno murmured. "Normal people don't put out like that."

"It's just those three." Sephiroth noted dryly. "I don't understand it at all."

Riku's phone rang and he quickly pulled it from his back pocket. He flipped it open with a grin. "Hey, Sor; How's it going…? ...Oh, yeah? Heh, okay. At Tifa's, Zack and Leon are giving us a show. Looks like it. Alright, we'll meet you at home. Later."

He closed the phone and re-pocketed it. "Sora says everything went great, he sounds really happy and just dropped Pacifica off. He's meeting us at the house."

Zack and Leon finally pulled apart. Zack looked over and set his forearm on the table. "Which house?"

"I'm assuming ours or rather yours since me and Cloud won't be there much longer." Riku smirked, finishing his drink and standing, "Which makes things so much more convenient for you."

"Damn right it does." Zack also stood, tugging Leon up with him. "Who's coming with?"

"I told Demyx I'd be home early." Reno informed them. "He's still going through all the files he found in Ansem's computer and I need to make sure he stops and sleeps."

Sephiroth and Zell also declined. They each drifted out to go their separate ways, Sephiroth leaving all of his bet winnings to pay for the drinks. Cloud got up, Riku smiling at him suggestively, and they joined with Zack and Leon to head home.

The two couples walked together down the street, Cloud and Riku in the lead. They loosely held hands, completely relaxed with each other. Zack glanced at Leon and found him watching to two ahead. When Leon looked to him, a brief smile crossed his scarred face and moved just a touch closer.

Sora was sitting on the steps, waiting. He looked over at the group as they approached and shook his head. "Good thing I told Aerith I'm staying at her place tonight."

"Just what are you implying?" Riku lightly kicked at his friend's leg.

The brunette grinned. "I'm not implying anything."

"So, how'd it go?" Zack and Leon passed the teen on the steps.

"Awesome. It was a lot of fun." Blue eyes sparkled. "How about you guys?"

Zack glanced at Leon. The sable-haired man shrugged indifferently but that small smile reappeared. "I think we're alright."

"Good." He watched Leon's hand reach over to brush Zack's leg. Riku was pressed against Cloud and Sora knew exactly where his hand was. With a soft laugh, Sora stood and left down the steps. "Obviously, you all have important things to do and I want to think a little about tonight so why don't I tell you guys all about my date over breakfast?"

Riku bit his lip. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," The younger teen nodded. He smirked at his best friend. "But I'm not delaying it for you."

That was when they heard a very soft moan from Zack.

Sora snickered, blushing a bit. He did not look back as Riku stated, "Take it upstairs, you two."

Zack bit his lip as Leon again caressed his back. He took hold of the hand that was slowly torturing him and dragged Leon inside, not bothering to reply to Riku's words. He also ignored Cloud's chuckle.

Leon took the lead, somehow managing to make it up the stairs backwards, gripping both of Zack's hands. His expression had grown dark and intent. Zack found it completely fascinating.

He shoved Zack into the bedroom, kicking the door shut behind them. No sooner had that happen than Zack was upon him, pressing him against the door. Violet eyes burned into equally intense steel blue.

"You up for this?" The raven-haired one asked seriously.

Leon's expression did not change but there was wariness to his voice. "Probably not but that doesn't mean I don't want to try."

Zack smirked for a moment then brought his lips crashing down upon the others. His hands held tightly to Leon's waist as the other man's worked their way up the taller one's back to tangle themselves in black hair. The distance between their bodies vanished.

After a few minutes of needy kisses and hungry grasping, it became obvious that Leon was definitely not up for this. It was also clear how badly he wanted to be. Zack pulled away from Leon's neck and tugged him toward the bed.

Leon followed and just before it, Zack began undressing him. He attacked the younger man's neck again with light kisses, speaking in-between each. "Let's just take off… all of our clothes… and curl up… in bed and see… where the night… takes us… hmm?"

Leon moaned softly and nodded. He began working on Zack's clothing and within a few moments, both were completely undressed. Zack turned down the bed covers and lightly pushed Leon back into the mattress.

Leon shifted his body, making room for Zack to join him. Once he did, the sable-haired man was again pressed against him. They shared another long, lingering kiss before Leon settled in beside him.

Zack wrapped his arms around the slightly smaller body, deciding he could definitely get used to this feeling. Leon kissed Zack's bare chest, surprised at just how alive he felt. As they lay there and let sleep come to them, both agreed that they could not imagine themselves anywhere else.


End file.
